


Paging Dr Gallagher

by DodgerBear



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Doctor Ian Gallagher, Domestic Mickey Milkovich, It’s probably so bad, M/M, my first ever au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-06-26 09:49:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19765693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DodgerBear/pseuds/DodgerBear
Summary: Yev has an accident and ends up in ER, where Mickey meets the hot pediatrician assigned to his son.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever AU but I thought I’d give it a try. Let me know what you think.

“Wakey wakey Sunshine.”

Ian drifted slowly to consciousness to a soft voice and a gentle hand stroking his hair. He smiled sleepily and opened his eyes. 

“Hey.” He mumbled. 

“You’ve got a call, Sweetie. You’re needed in ER.”

“Thanks Josie.” Ian sat up and stretched his arms above his head. The tiny cot in the on-call room was not built for his six foot frame. 

Josie smiled down at him. “I’ll get you a coffee to take with you.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” Ian winked and made Josie laugh. In his opinion Josie was the glue that kept the night shift together in his department. Pediatrics was not an easy specialty to get to grips with but from the first week of his internship he knew it was where he wanted to be. When things were bad, they were horrific but when things went well it was the most rewarding job in the world. Only now he wasn’t an intern anymore. He was a resident with a lot to prove. 

Ian made it to ER less than five minutes after his wake up call. It was almost six in the morning and his shift ended at 8am so he hoped whatever he was about to deal with wasn’t so serious that he had to cut into his downtime. He had three rota days off after a full week of night shifts and he planned to sleep for a full 24 hours. The emergency room was pretty quiet as he made his way to the main desk. 

“Hey Dr G.” The nurse at the station greeted with a bright smile. She passed him a chart and he glanced at the patient details. A four year old male with a suspected broken arm. He smiled to himself. While a kid with a broken arm was awful, it wasn’t serious enough to keep him past the end of his shift. 

“How do you say his name?” Ian frowned and pointed to the chart. 

“Yevgeny Milkovich.” The nurse chuckled. “He’s in cubicle two.”

“I’m sorry Daddy. Don’t be mad at me.”

Ian heard the pitiful voice and his stomach clenched. A cold spear of apprehension went through his body. Was he about to face a domestic abuse situation? He’d seen far too many of these in his short time as a resident. As well as taking him way beyond the end of his shift it would also place him in a position where he’d want to beat the shit out of the offending parent. 

A loud, long-suffering sigh came from behind the curtain. 

“Of course I’m mad! I told you no and you did it anyway. Then you got hurt. You think I wanna see you get hurt? Jesus Yev. I’m supposed to look out for you!” 

Ian stepped into the cubicle and found the child sitting on the bed with red eyes and a snotty nose. Beside him was a man a little older than Ian who was so pale he was tempted to check him over for anaemia. His fear of domestic abuse faded when he saw the look of desolation and fear on the man’s face. 

“Hey, I’m Dr Gallagher. You must be Yevgeny.” He smiled brightly. 

The child nodded sadly. “Hello.”

“That’s a big name for a little guy.” Ian winked. 

“You can call me Yev. My Daddy does.”

“Alright Yev. You can call me Ian.”

“Ee-an.” Yev tested out the word and smiled happily when Ian nodded. 

Ian turned to the kid’s father and cast an appraising look over him. He certainly wouldn’t be everyone’s type but to Ian he was sex on a stick. He was a fair bit shorter than Ian and looked a little rough around the edges but he was making Ian think highly inappropriate thoughts. Too bad he didn’t swing Ian’s way. 

“You got somethin’ to say?” 

Ian grinned and realized he’d been caught staring. “Just woke up, getting my bearings. I’m sorry. You must be Yev’s dad.”

The guy nodded once. “Mickey.”

“Good to meet you Mickey. So what happened here?” Ian asked softly and used his stethoscope to listen to Yev’s heart rate. 

“I was bad.” Yev sighed sullenly. 

Mickey snorted and shook his head. “You got manipulation down to an art, you know that kiddo?” He glanced at Ian and addressed him. “Last weekend he learned to ride his bike with no training wheels. He wanted to ride his bike before school and I told him no, so he snuck out of the house while I was still sleeping and fell off the bike in the yard.”

Ian raised his eyebrows at Yev. “You really did that? Wow. That’s kinda bad ass.”

Yev’s scared expression gave way to a giggle and Mickey rolled his eyes. “Oh you think it’s funny do you? Your Mom is gonna have my ass for this.”

“Mommy is definitely gonna yell at you.” Yev agreed. 

“Yell at me? She’s gonna give me a matching broken arm!” Mickey cracked a grin and it warmed Ian’s heart to see the hottest guy he’d met in a long time interact with his son. 

“What’s that for?” Yev asked Ian and tugged on the stethoscope in his hand. 

“So I can listen to your heart. Wanna try it on me?” Ian offered and Yev nodded excitedly. With his good arm he picked up the end and waited for Ian to pull down the collar on his shirt. Ian glanced up at Mickey and was surprised to see his eyes trained on the patch of freckled skin on his chest. 

“Just there. Good job Yev. Now listen to it beating in your ears.”

Yev’s eyes widened comically and he gasped to his father. “Daddy it’s amazing!”

Mickey smiled tightly. “Cool.”

“You try.” Yev handed the stethoscope off to him. 

Mickey blushed and shook his head. “Nah man. It’s okay. Let’s just get you fixed up so I can get to work...”

“Daddy!” Yev whined. “Please!”

Mickey narrowed his eyes and grabbed the stethoscope. “Fine. Come on Doc. Let’s move this along yeah?”

Ian flashed his biggest, sexiest grin at the man who was clearly trying to get away from the situation his son had put him in. Mickey’s jaw dropped when he heard the steady thrumming of Dr Gallagher’s heartbeat in his ears. 

“Isn’t it so cool Daddy?” Yev beamed. 

Mickey yanked the pods out of his ears and thrust the device back at Ian. “Very cool. Now let’s do this. I got work.”

Ian grinned and turned back to Yev. “Okay Yev. If zero is no pain at all and ten is the worst pain you’ve ever felt in the world ever, how bad is your arm right now?”

Yev screwed up his little face as he considered the question. “Uh...six?”

“Six huh? Okay that’s good. I’m glad you didn’t say ten. I woulda had to chop off your arm!” Ian teased and Yev giggled. “I’ll give you some medicine to help you feel less pain then I’ll check out your x-rays.”

Mickey was pacing around the cubicle again and Ian felt a pinch of sadness for him. 

“He’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.”

Mickey bit his lip and shook his head. “How much is this all gonna cost?”

“You got insurance?” Ian asked. 

Mickey shook his head again. “Nope. Don’t qualify while I’m on probation.”

Ian’s eyes widened when he realized the hot dad in front of his was a convicted felon. 

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Relax. I’m not a danger to society.”

“Didn’t think you were. The cost varies. If the x-rays confirm he doesn’t need surgery it’ll be about two grand.” Ian explained. 

Mickey winced. “And if he does need surgery?”

“Fifteen maybe.”

“Jesus fuck.” Mickey rubbed his eyes tiredly. 

Ian sighed softly. “What about his Mom? She got insurance?”

Mickey snorted. “She’s barely got a fuckin green card.”

Yev tutted loudly from the bed. “Daddy you are swearing so much.”

Mickey’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Oh yeah? That’s what happens when you got a kid who doesn’t listen, gets hurt and lands you with a hospital bill you’ll be dead before you can pay off!”

Yev’s bottom lip trembled. “I’m sorry.”

Ian observed as Mickey paled even more. 

“We can work something out.” Ian placed his hand on Mickey’s arm. 

A pretty, young lady opened the curtains and smiled radiantly at Ian. “Here’s your x-rays.”

Ian thanked her and put them on the light box attached to the wall. The nurse ducked out of the cubicle and Mickey scoffed a laugh. 

“Think you’re supposed to flirt back with the candy stripers Doc.”

Ian concentrated on the x-rays. “She’s a fully qualified nurse and she’s barking up the wrong tree.”

“Oh? Stacked blondes not your type huh?” Mickey teased. 

Ian cut his eyes to Mickey and stared hard at him. “Nope. Any more questions about my personal life or should I get on with treating your son?”

Ian didn’t mean to sound so snippy but the gorgeous man beside him was driving him mad just by being so close. Adding in the teasing about Nurse Stevens was just too much. Sure, Ian didn’t set off many gaydars when he was at work but for Mickey to just assume he was straight was fucking him off. 

Mickey smirked wickedly. “Please. Go ahead.”

Ian resumed his inspection of the results and smiled at Yev. “Good news Yev. We don’t have to chop it off.”

Yev giggled. “That’s good. I want to play drums when I’m big.”

“Wow. That’s so cool. You heard of Def Leppard?”

Yev shook his head. “I know what a leopard is. Why would it be deaf?”

Ian chuckled. “Def Leppard is the name of a rock band from England. Their drummer only has one arm. Maybe your Dad can show you when you get home.”

Yev nodded excitedly. “Yes! Daddy will you?”

“Sure kiddo.” Mickey agreed easily. 

Ian addressed Mickey. “It’s a clean break. No surgery needed. I’ll do what I can to keep the cost down.”

Mickey sighed heavily and Ian could see the agony of needing to disclose his financial problems to a stranger. “Thanks Doc.”

“Call me Ian. Doc sounds like the guy from Back to the Future.” Ian grinned and slipped out of the cubicle. 

Ian was filling in the paperwork for young Mr Milkovich at the desk when Nurse Stevens approached with a pinched look on her face. 

“Ian...I’m sorry to trouble you...the little boy with the broken arm is freaking out. He only wants you.”

Ian sighed heavily and put down his pen. “No problem.” He replied, even though it was a slight problem when he was half an hour away from the end of his shift and he was trying so hard to forget the kid’s drop dead gorgeous, heterosexual father. 

Yev was a snotty mess when he entered the cubicle again. Mickey was pacing. 

“Ian...it hurts...” Yev wailed. 

Ian smiled softly. “I know, kiddo. Once the plaster cast is on you won’t feel the pain anymore. It’s just while Nurse Stevens moves it around that it’s gonna hurt.”

“You do it. You don’t hurt me.”

Ian stroked Yev’s hair. “It’ll still hurt even if I do it.”

“Please. I promise I’ll never be bad again.”

Mickey raised his eyebrows. “Can I get that in writing?”

Ian chuckled and sat on the stool beside the bed, snapping on some rubber gloves. “Okay. Let’s do this. I got a breakfast date at 9 that I wanna keep.” He winked at Yev. 

Nurse Stevens hovered in the background and Ian took pity on her. 

“Go ahead and get your break. I’m good here.”

She disappeared quickly and Mickey glanced at Ian. “Guess she’s not the lucky lady you’re having breakfast with...”

Ian concentrated on fixing Yev up but cracked a smile. “No, she isn’t. I’m meeting my sister actually. So not that kinda date.”

“Glad to hear it.” Mickey smirked and Ian raised his eyes to him curiously. Mickey was about clarify that he was glad Ian wasn’t dating his sister when his phone rang in his pocket. When he retrieved it his eyes closed in dismay. 

“Your Mom.” He told Yev. “This ain’t gonna be pretty.”

Yev winced and Ian wasn’t sure if it was the injury or fear for his father. 

“Hey Svet...he’s okay...right calm down. No! Jesus woman listen to me for fucks sake! He’s okay! Svet...SVETLANA! Calm the fuck down before I hang up. Right. He’s got a broken arm...oh my God woman! Let me finish! He’s being seen by the doctor now. What do you mean, how good is he? He’s a fuckin doctor! Svet I swear to God. We’ll be home soon. Relax. Yev can tell you all about it when we’re back. Yes. Okay. I’ll tell him. YES! Okay bye bye crazy lady.”

Mickey hung up the phone and found Ian gaping at him.

“That went well.” Mickey stated without a hint of sarcasm. 

“Really?” Ian chuckled. 

“Well she’s not on her way down here to check your medical qualifications so yeah, I’d say it went great.” 

Ian shook his head and laughed. “Your wife sounds pretty crazy, no offense.”

“Ex-wife. And none taken. She’s crazier than a shit-house rat.” Mickey replied easily. 

Ian’s heart leapt in his chest at the mention of an ex-wife and he was pleased his stethoscope was safely wrapped around his neck. He may be divorced, but Mickey was still straight. With an ex-wife and son who could attest to that fact. 

“Daddy!” Yev rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Swearing is bad. I know.”

Ian needed to finish up before he said something stupid. He worked quickly and efficiently and Yev was soon the proud owner of a cast with a black fabric sleeve. 

“Awesome!” He beamed. 

“Thanks Doc...I mean Ian.” Mickey smiled. 

Ian hid his blush by turning away to throw his gloves away. “No worries. I’ll finish writing up Yev’s chart and you can get on with your day.”

When he turned back he smiled down at the little boy who was staring in fascination at the new accessory on his arm. 

“Nice to meet you Yev. You be good for your Daddy okay? I know it doesn’t seem like it but if he says no it’s probably for a very good reason. So listen to him, yeah? He knows what he’s talking about.”

Yev nodded solemnly. “I will. Bye Ian.”

“Bye guys.” Ian waved. 

Mickey gazed after him with a tiny smile twitching at his lips. 

Ian yawned as he dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s on Yev’s chart. He charged for the stuff he absolutely had to, like the x-ray and the plaster cast, but knocked off the other stuff like pain relief that he could make disappear from inventory quite easily. He passed the chart to the administrator, Daphne, who glanced at the bill and looked back at Ian. 

“You learn math at that fancy college you just graduated from?” She asked archly. 

Ian laughed at her harshness, knowing she was the biggest softie in the place. “Aww Daff, I’m just giving the guy a break. He’s not insured.”

“He’s not insured because he’s a Milkovich.” Daphne huffed. 

“What’s that mean?” Ian frowned. 

“I thought you grew up South Side. You must know the Milkovich family! He’s the youngest son of Terry Milkovich. That man is responsible for most of the sad ass assault victims we get in here.”

Ian frowned to himself. “I’ve heard the name but don’t know them. Guessing we weren’t in school at the same time.”

Daphne shrugged. “He’s not that much older than you. Maybe a year or two. But don’t think his attendance record would be up to much.”

Ian yawned again. “I gotta go. Fiona’s treating me to breakfast. Can you finish up with them?”

“Sure.” Daphne nodded. 

“And be nice.” Ian winked as he picked up his coffee cup and left the ER for a few days, hoping a few days away from the place would recharge his batteries and make him forget all the depraved things he wanted to do to a patient’s father in a supply closet. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey is surprised at how quickly he reveals more of himself to Ian.

“Daddy! Look!” Yev shrieked in a pitch that made Mickey want to cover his ears. 

“What is it Shrimp?” Mickey glanced around the pharmacy and tried to place what had caused his son to lose his shit with excitement. 

“It’s Ian!” Yev was already skipping off down the aisle towards the tall, sexy redhead that had a starring role in all of Mickey’s naughty dreams since they’d met a couple of weeks earlier. 

“Yev! Get back here!” Mickey chased his kid down but he was already bouncing away from him. 

Mickey watched as Ian looked up from his perusal of two items in his hands and spotted the briefest flash of horror on his face before he smiled brightly at the child. 

“Ian!” Yev gasped with unbridled excitement. He hadn’t stopped talking about the best doctor in the world since his trip to the emergency room, especially when Mickey played YouTube videos of Def Leppard for him. It hadn’t helped Mickey get his head out of the clouds about him one little bit. 

“Hey Yev!” Ian greeted cheerfully and gained more points with Mickey for remembering his kid’s weird ass name. He blushed as he glanced up at Mickey. “Hey Mickey.”

It was then that Mickey realized that the items Ian was comparing was two different types of lube. Mickey’s eyes widened and his brows raised. Suddenly Ian’s lack of interest in Nurse Hot Stuff was clear and understood. 

“So...” Ian exhaled. “How’ve you guys been?”

“Look at my arm Ian!” Yev’s hand shot in the air. 

Ian gasped for real when he saw the modifications to the black fabric sleeve over the cast. It had been done with silver and gold glitter gel pens and depicted a galaxy scene. 

“Wow Yev! That’s amazing!” Ian enthused. 

“My Daddy did it. He’s really good at drawing pictures for me. I love space and rockets and stars...” Yev rambled happily. 

Ian met Mickey’s uncomfortable gaze and smiled when the darker man blushed. 

“That’s really awesome Mickey.”

“Thanks. Kid seemed to like it.”

“I broke my wrist when I was twelve. Fell asleep with a pristine white cast. Woke up and my brothers had covered it in badly drawn tits. They also wrote swear words all over it.” Ian scowled at his memory. 

Mickey snickered and nodded slightly to the small bottles in Ian’s hands. “Waste of their time, huh.”

“Not that they knew at the time, but yeah.” Ian grinned. 

“Daddy is taking me to the arcades to play. Can you come Ian?” Yev blurted out. 

“Uh...” Ian exhaled but Mickey cut in before he could add anything else. 

“Yev, Ian’s a busy guy...”

Ian did a perfect goldfish impression while Yev and Mickey argued with each other about the etiquette of asking virtual, albeit fucking gorgeous, strangers out on trips to arcades. 

“I’ve got a few things to do but if I get done in time I’ll swing by the arcade. The one next to the new Walmart?”

Mickey nodded. “Yup. Be there until about six.”

“Okay.”

“I...uh...I’m glad we ran into you. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to say thank you. What you did with his hospital bill was really something.” Mickey scratched at his neck nervously. 

Ian smiled warmly. “It was nothing.”

“Maybe not to you. It was plenty to me. So thanks.”

“No worries.”

Mickey began to hustle Yev out of the pharmacy and when he got to the door and Yev was out of earshot he decided to drop a little bomb on Ian. 

“Hey Doc?”

“Yeah Mickey?” Ian looked up the aisle expectantly. 

“I recommend the one on the left. Cheaper _and_ lasts longer.” Mickey winked and quickly left the shop before he even had the pleasure of seeing Ian’s jaw drop to the floor so fast it made a slamming noise. 

The lights in the arcade were in danger of sparking a seizure in Mickey but Yev absolutely loved the place. This was where he always asked to go when he hung out with his father and Mickey wasn’t about to deny the only good thing in his life anything he asked for. Ever. Well, within reason. Yev has asked to be part of the next NASA space program every other week since he was old enough to talk. Sadly not even Mickey’s iron clad insistence that his son will have, be and achieve everything he wants can get the little shrimp into space at this point. But for everything within Mickey’s power, and Svetlana’s too, he would get. There was no way Yev would grow up in the squalor and fear Mickey did. He would know love. He would be clean, whether he liked it or not. He would never go to sleep hungry. He would always be free to live his life whatever way made him happy. Mickey was committed to those things like they ruled his life. 

“Daddy. Why are you sad?” Yev frowned, pausing his game. 

Mickey smiled back. “I’m not sad. That’s my thinking face.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Thinking about if it’s fair that I beat you at Pac-Man when you only got one arm. I got an unfair advantage.” Mickey joked and Yev giggled. 

“IAN!” Yev shrieked and Mickey leapt a foot in the air. 

“Jesus kid. Dunno what’s gonna go first, my heart or my hearing!” Mickey grunted. 

Ian appeared beside them and warmly greeted Yev with a fist bump on his bad arm. 

“Medically speaking, it’s very unusual for a fright to bring on a heart attack. Especially from a four year old. Usually there’s an unknown condition lurking in the background.” Ian told Mickey breezily. 

“Oh yeah?” Mickey retorted. “Where does years of smoking, drinking and narcotics abuse fit into it?”

Ian tilted his head and smirked. “Years?”

“Years.” Mickey confirmed. 

“Bad?”

“Oh wow yeah.”

Ian chuckled and shrugged before turning to Yev. “Maybe lay off the shocks kiddo.”

The little boy shrugged his agreement. “Wanna play Pac-Man with my Daddy? He’s got an funfair advantage cuz I’ve got one arm.” Yev told Ian. 

Ian glanced at Mickey. “Your kid is freakin adorable.”

Mickey scoffed. “You’ve never tried to get him in the bath tub when he doesn’t wanna go.”

“What are you gonna do if we play Pac-Man?” Ian asked the child. 

Yev hopped onto the racing car game a little way down from them. “I’m gonna drive a Rari.”

“One day kiddo.” Mickey grinned and planted a kiss on Yev’s messy hair as he reached over to put a dollar in the ride. 

With Yev distracted the two men stood alongside each other. Mickey felt a frisson of something go through him when Ian’s arm brushed his own, and it went straight to his dick. 

“So Mickey...” Ian started in a low voice so Yev couldn’t hear. “How’d you know so much about good quality lube?”

Mickey choked on fresh air and shot Ian a glare. “The fuck?”

Once he checked Yev hadn’t heard he turned back to Ian and his expression changed to a sly smirk. 

“How’d you think? Same reason as you, I guess.”

Ian coughed. “Really? I’d be surprised.”

“Be surprised, man. Would _you_ take a dick up the ass with no lube?” Mickey muttered and started to hit the buttons at warp speed. It was a risk for Mickey to reveal himself to Ian. Outing himself to _anyone_ was a big fucking risk and one that Mickey had taken so few times in his life that it still felt like the first time every time he did it. 

Ian froze. Mickey saw in his peripheral vision the change in Ian’s posture as he went rigid. Finally, when Mickey thought he’d blown it completely, Ian spoke quietly. 

“Well _I_ wouldn’t take a dick up _my_ ass at all.” 

Mickey snorted and started to laugh. “That right? Strictly a mailman, never a mailbox huh?”

“Jesus Christ Mick!” Ian guffawed. 

Mickey grinned widely and felt himself warm from the inside out at the way Ian so casually shortened his name. It sounded right. It felt right. 

“What’s so funny?” Yev called out to them and Mickey had to put his fatherly game face on. 

“It’s funny how bad Doogie Howser over here sucks at Pac-Man.”

Ian scoffed and Yev frowned. 

“He’s 4, Mickey. Not 400.” Ian stated with a chuckle. 

“He’s old enough to know the classics.”

Yev lost interest in their playful bickering and pointed to a shoot em up game. 

“I wanna try that.”

“Please.” Mickey retorted and Yev bowed his head as he was reminded of his manners. Mickey let him off with a wry smile and a ruffle of his hair. “Come on kid.”

The three of them played every game in the place before Mickey realized it was nearly 9 and way beyond Yev’s bedtime. 

“Your mom is only just speaking to me after you hurt your arm. Do not tell her I let you stay out until this time.” Mickey warned. 

Yev held his finger to his lips. “Secret.”

Ian grinned at the pair. “You’re both freakin adorable.”

Mickey shook his head. “Bright lights must be fryin your brain Doc. Come on Yev. Time to go.”

“Can we play another time Ian?” Yev pouted up at the tall man. 

Ian shrugged helplessly. “I dunno Yev. I’m back on night shift tomorrow.”

“On a Saturday?” Yev frowned like it was unheard of for such a thing to happen. 

“Afraid so. Little boys and girls get hurt and sick on weekends quite a lot.” Ian told him. 

“You don’t have to humor him Doc.” Mickey rolled his eyes, knowing Ian had probably had his fill of Yev’s excitement and energy by now. 

Ian shook his head wildly. “I’m not...”

“Can we come back here next weekend Daddy? Then Ian can come too.” 

Yev, the voice of reason, had spoken. 

“Next weekend is supposed to be nice weather. Why don’t we hit up the park?” Ian suggested. “Maybe get some ice cream?”

Yev’s face lit up. “Yes!”

“You’re with your Mom next weekend.” Mickey reminded his son, who scowled when he was reminded he was spending the full weekend with his mother, her new husband and his two young brats. 

“Do I have to?” 

Mickey’s eyes rolled as he was faced with the same question yet again. 

“Yes Yev, she is your Mom and she sets the rules.”

Yev glared at his father. “Well I hate her rules and I hate Max and I hate Anna and I hate George!”

Ian took a step back as the youngster’s anger boiled over. Mickey wasn’t going to rise to the bait and just shrugged casually. 

“Good for you. Sooner you learn you gotta do stuff that you don’t always like the better you’ll be at being a grown up.”

Yev was about to flip his shit when Ian stepped in. 

“I’m off work the weekend after. I’ll give your Dad my number and we can meet up.”

Mickey shot Ian a look and sighed. “Fine.”

Mickey put Yev to bed and did the dishes that were leftover from breakfast. He knew for a fact his son was going to be a tired, grumpy asshole when he woke up but he’d enjoyed himself with Ian to the point that he didn’t care. Ian Gallagher. The man was an enigma. He looked about 18 years old but was a first year resident pediatrician. So either he was a real Doogie Howser or he was older than he looked. Mickey _really_ hoped it was the latter. Then there was his body. It made Mickey’s mouth dry up and drool at the same time. Just as his mind was wandering to the finer aspects of Ian’s appearance he was jolted by his cell beeping. He dried off his hands and clicked open his text message. 

“ _I enjoyed today. You’ve got a hella cute kid. Don’t wanna step outta line though so if you’re not feeling it we can skip us meeting up. I’m sure Yev can be distracted by something else instead. Ball is in your court Mick. IG._ ”

Mickey sighed heavily. How could he tell Ian that he was more than ‘feeling it’? He didn’t have a whole lot of experience with this sort of thing. It wasn’t even that he was so anti-relationship. The opportunity just never presented itself. Sure, if he had an itch he knew where to go to have it scratched. But none of those scratchers were long term prospects. Definitely nobody he would introduce to his son. With uncharacteristically nervous fingers he tapped out a reply. 

_“Just gonna hang out at a park, Red. No big deal._ ”

He cringed when he hit send. Red? Was he that familiar now? And no big deal? That was just an outright lie. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed to his bedroom. When he fell asleep three hours later, after a pretty intense jerk off session while watching a gay redhead porn star drilling a stocky dark haired guy on his laptop, Ian hadn’t replied to his message. 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insecurity and uncertainty leads to a misunderstanding.

It had been a week since the night at the arcade. A week since Mickey sent him a brief, cutting message that cleared up in Ian’s mind exactly what Mickey thought of him. 

“What’s up Sweet Face?” Fiona placed a plate of pancakes and bacon on the table in front of Ian. 

“You heard of the Milkovich family?”

Fiona screwed up her face. “Sure. Iggy was in my grade. Funny kid.”

“Funny?”

“Yeah.” She dropped into the seat opposite her brother. “He was really smart but just hated school. He dropped out early when he went to juvie.”

“Hmm.”

“Why you asking about Iggy?”

“I’m not. Not Iggy exactly. I met one of them at work the other day. Mickey.” Ian mumbled around a mouthful of food. He didn’t get a lot of opportunity to eat properly so he didn’t want to pass it up. 

“Mickey. Oh yeah. He was in Lip’s grade I think.”

“He was there with his kid. Broke his arm falling off his bike.” Ian smiled when he thought of Yev. “Cute kid.”

“Falling off his bike? You sure Mickey hasn’t picked up any of his piece of shit father’s tricks?”

Ian couldn’t stop the flare of indignant irritation that went through him. “Of course I’m sure. He idolizes that kid. You think I’d let it go if I thought otherwise?” He snapped. 

Fiona reeled back in surprise. “Whoa. I’m only asking. Jeez.”

Ian let out a breath. “Sorry. I’m cranky and tired. But seriously. Mickey isn’t like that.”

“You seem to know Mickey pretty well.” Fiona stared at Ian. 

He shifted in his seat. “I bumped into them last week. When I was buying lube. Of all fuckin things.”

“Too much information, little brother.” Fiona scowled. 

“Yeah well. Mickey didn’t seem to mind.” Ian tried to get Fiona to make the connection so he could legitimately say he didn’t out Mickey to anyone. 

“What...?” Fiona wasn’t stupid. “Mickey isn’t gay.”

“You think?” Ian his all of the emotion from his expression and his voice. 

“He can’t be.”

“Why not?”

“Cuz if he was he’d be dead by now.” Fiona stated bluntly. 

Ian’s mouth fell open. “What do you mean?”

“Terry Milkovich would literally rather murder his own son than have him being a living, breathing fag. The guy has done time for fag bashing more than anyone else in the state of Illinois. Seriously.” Fiona warned him and left him feeling sick and uncomfortable. 

“Maybe Terry doesn’t know.” Ian sighed heavily. This was a something he’d never considered. Mickey was divorced with a young son. The world may not know what Ian knew. Why had Mickey confided in him? A virtual stranger. It was beyond Ian’s understanding. 

“Let’s hope it stays that way. For his sake.” Fiona cut in and effectively ended the conversation. She didn’t know Ian was hoping and planning to see the Milkovich family again. He decided in that moment to keep it that way. For all of their safety. 

Ian wasn’t sure meeting up with the Milkovich boys again was such a good idea. Mickey’s reply to his message giving him an out had been lukewarm to say the least. In the end Ian decided to put his big boy pants on and let Mickey off the hook once and for all before he could waste any more time thinking on it. 

“ _Hey Mick. Getting the vibe you’re not really interested in seeing me again. That’s cool. Give my apologies to Yev. Take care guys. Ian_.”

He pocketed his phone and headed into work, which at the very least would prove to be a good 12 to 16 hour distraction. 

Josie was working the same shift as Ian so the time passed steadily. She ran the department with an iron fist but if you did your job right she was so sweet. Ian had learned more about how a hospital worked from this woman than anything they could teach at medical school. When the morning came Ian was tired but not dead on his feet and accepted an offer to grab breakfast from one of the radiology guys. He headed to an early opening diner with Paul and grabbed a booth by the window. 

“Mackie, Sara and Josie said they would be along after they clock off.” Paul yawned and stretched his limbs. 

“Cool.” Ian nodded and glanced over the menu. 

Paul was hot and had a great body, but as a happily engaged father of one he was most certainly not on the menu. Ian didn’t waste his energy trying to fuck around with straight boys, especially ones he valued for their friendship. 

The server brought coffee and took their breakfast order while Ian chatted with Paul about the new overtime payment tariff. 

“Typical bullshit. More work for less pay.” Paul groused as he tipped more sugar than a dentist would be happy with into his cup. 

Ian nodded along. “It’s not so bad for me. I can just claim the extra as hours towards my residency. But in a year it’s gonna cripple me.”

“Yeah.” Paul agreed with a click of his tongue. “Remember those days.”

Ian grinned at his friend. “You’re like what...30? You should remember those days!”

“I’m not 30! Just cuz I’m not lucky enough to look 17 when I’m actually 25.” Paul was mock-outraged.

Ian tipped his head back and laughed, his eyes drawn to the window. He froze with the smile on his face when he saw Mickey on the other side of the glass, gazing at him with a strange expression on his face. Was it _sadness_? Ian could see the expression change to flight mode and knew he had to act quickly. 

“Hey. Gimme a sec.” He told Paul and darted out of the booth and onto the street. 

“Mick!” Ian called out to the retreating figure. 

The older man stopped and turned slowly, his sigh loud enough for Ian to hear. 

“What’s up Doc?” Mickey went for levity but it sounded forced. 

Ian didn’t know how to respond and it was making him uneasy. He was not the guy that got tongue tied, even when the other guy was hotter than hell. He always managed to hold it together and be cool. What was so fucking different about this dude that made Ian forget he even had a tongue in his mouth?

“You okay?” Mickey prompted. 

Ian pulled himself together before Mickey thought he’d had a stroke. 

“Uh. Yeah. Just wanted to say hey.”

“Hey.”

“What’re you doing here?”

Mickey pointed to the end of the block. “Work at that auto shop.”

“Oh.” Ian mumbled dumbly. 

“He the reason why you didn’t wanna hang out anymore?” Mickey bit the bullet and tilted his head towards the window. Ian looked over and saw Paul gazing out curiously at them as they had their tense sidewalk stand off. 

Ian shook his head, eyes returning to Mickey. “No. That’s Paul. Works at the hospital with me. We get breakfast after shift sometimes.”

Mickey just shrugged in response. 

“Wanna join us?” Ian offered. 

Mickey narrowed his eyes. “You blew me off. Why’d you wanna hang out now?”

“I blew you off?” Ian huffed indignantly. 

Mickey nodded furiously. “Yes you did. Want me to read your message back to you?”

Ian set his jaw firmly. “I sent that cuz you confuse the hell outta me and I had no clue what was going on!”

“The fuck you talking about Ian?” Mickey snapped angrily. 

Ian took a step closer to Mickey but the older man was not going to back down. “You kept telling Yev that we shouldn’t meet up. I texted you and gave you a way out. You replied with some cold as fuck bullshit. I know I’m not exactly the Catch of the Day over here but would be nice to get a little enthusiasm from you. So I’m lettin you off the hook.”

“What’s with all the weird fishing references?” Mickey scowled. 

Ian glared at him and took a deep breath. “You know, Mick, you’re a bit of an asshole.”

Mickey chuckled darkly. “Got me there, Doc.”

Ian rolled his eyes. “Whatever. More fool me for thinking I had a shot with you. I mean, I get that you can’t be out and proud or whatever but it’s not like I was proposing marriage.”

Mickey’s jaw twitched. “The fuck does that mean?”

“I talked to people about you. You’re a Milkovich. You don’t get to be a fag...”

Mickey’s expression clouded over and Ian could feel the shift in the air. Mickey was flat out pissed now. “The fuck you been talkin to? They don’t know shit. My piece of shit sperm donor is the only person who ever told me I couldn’t be a fag. Now he’s locked up until he pisses off the wrong inmate and they find a hole in the ground big enough to bury him in. I don’t answer to _anyone_. Not anymore. Least of all some jumped up rainbow-loving queer like you.”

Suddenly Ian was staring in shock at Mickey’s back as he stomped down the sidewalk away from him. 

“Well fuck.” Ian exhaled heavily and headed back into the diner. 

“Friend of yours?” Paul smirked as he chewed on his eggs. 

Ian sighed and picked at his crispy bacon. “Not anymore. I just blew it, big style.”

“You two had a thing?” Paul looked surprised. “Doesn’t look your type.”

“What do you know about my type?” Ian chuckled. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I fucked up before we even had a date.”

“Sorry man.”

“My fault.” Ian shrugged. “Turns out I’m an insensitive dick.”

Paul shook his head. “No way. Maybe this guy is an over-sensitive dick.”

Ian burst into laughter. “Guess I’ll never find out.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey reaches out to Ian and they build some bridges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🚨 smut alert 🚨 
> 
> Rating changed because my smut got wayyyyy outta hand!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think 🧡

Mickey was absolutely enraged and everyone at the auto shop knew about it. Ian’s casual dismissal by text had hurt him more than it should have done. But then to bump into him while he was pissing his pants laughing with another guy was even worse. Then for Ian to just write him off because he’s a Milkovich? Well that was the last fuckin straw. 

“Fuckin dare he...he don’t know shit...fuckin asshole...” Mickey ranted angrily as he threw his tools back into the box. 

“Everything okay Mick?” Eddie peered carefully around the corner at his best employee. 

Mickey cut his eyes to his boss. “Just fuckin peachy.”

Eddie moved closer when he saw Mickey didn’t have anything in his hands that could be used as a missile. “Who’s giving you grief?”

Mickey got on well with his boss. They were friends. Eddie and his wife even looked after Yev sometimes when Mickey needed to be somewhere. The kid was friends with Eddie's six year old son. He was a good guy to confide in. 

“This guy I met. The doctor at the hospital when Yev hurt his arm. We hung out one time with Yev and then he blew me off. Saw him this morning and he was with another guy. Said I didn’t seem interested so he cut me off.” Mickey explained with a huff. 

“This other guy a date?” Eddie clarified. 

“Ian said not. Just after work breakfast. But who the fuck knows.” Mickey shrugged. 

“Were you interested?”

Mickey shrugged again. “I dunno. Fuck. Didn’t have much time to think about it before he hit the brakes.”

“You tell him that?”

Mickey narrowed his navy blue eyes. “This is sounding suspiciously like you’re on this douchebag’s side...”

Eddie barked a laugh. “No. But you gotta admit, communication ain’t your strong point. Maybe he thought he was doing you a favor.”

“Favor my ass. He heard about my family and decided he was better off not getting involved. So fuck it. _I’m_ better off not getting involved with _him_.”

Eddie nodded along. “Probably. I mean, he sounds like an ass.”

“He is.” Mickey insisted but then sighed loudly. “But he’s really hot.”

Eddie cackled happily. “Look, let him sweat for a couple of days and then drop him a message. See how it goes from there.”

“Right now I really don’t wanna give him the satisfaction.” Mickey growled. 

“Like I said, give it a couple days.” Eddie winked and went to answer the ringing phone he’d been ignoring for the last five minutes. 

Mickey stewed for three whole days. The situation was made worse by Yev asking repeatedly when they were going to see Ian again. At the end of the third day he caved and sent Ian a message. 

“ _Yo. The kid is asking why he can’t hang out with you. Turns out he takes a promise real serious. Meet us at the baseball field at 12 on Sunday. If you ain’t got a Pride rally to go to. M._ ”

It took about 90 seconds to get a reply. 

“ _You’re a dick. Pride is in June. Of course I’ll be there xx_ ”

Mickey smiled to himself and headed for an early night. With his laptop. And a selection of his favorited pornos. 

Yev was a hyperactive ball of energy on Sunday morning, his little blue jacket a blur as he raced around the park while Mickey sat on a bench and watched. It was a little before noon when Mickey spotted Ian walking towards him. 

“Holy fuck.” He exhaled under his breath when the true glory of Dr Ian Gallagher came closer. 

Ian was dressed to incite a fuckin wet dream in his tight black jeans and fitted dark green t-shirt that clung to his chest and arm muscles like it was painted on. It was a warm day so he hadn’t bothered with a jacket and that suited Mickey just fine. 

“Hey Mick.” Ian grinned cheerfully when he dropped casually onto the bench beside Mickey. 

“Doc.”

Ian chuckled deeply. “Call me Ian. Please.”

“You’re lucky I don’t call you worse than Doc.” 

Ian turned serious and smiled shyly. “I know. I was a dick. Making assumptions about you based on rumors. But in my defense...when I got your message sayin no big deal it kinda cut my hopes down.”

Mickey glanced at Ian, feeling the fluttering in his stomach that he’d come to realize was a side effect of being near Ian. “You never heard of playing it cool, man?”

Ian snorted. “That’s what that was? It was fuckin cold Mick.”

They were saved from the awkward tension by Yev spotting that Ian had arrived and screaming his name across the park. Ian waved over to the little boy and Mickey tingled at their interaction. 

“What’s goin on here Ian? What do you want? Cuz I’m not a single, ready to mingle Grindr type of fag. I got my kid pretty much full time.”

The words tumbled out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them. Horror clutched at his throat like an invisible fist. 

“I just want a chance to get to know you. I know you can’t promise anything. I know Yev is your priority. But I just want to get to know you. Cuz what I know so far, I really like.” Ian murmured. 

Mickey glanced at Ian’s profile. “Yeah?”

Ian turned and smiled shyly. “Yeah. And you’re really kinda hot.”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Alright.”

“I mean it!” Ian giggled and looked up to see Yev charging towards them. 

“Ian!”

“Hey Yev.” Ian ruffled the boy’s hair. “How’s it going?”

“My arm itches and my Daddy won’t let me stick a chopstick down it.” Yev answered matter of factly and made Ian laugh harder. 

Mickey shook his head. “He’s driving me crazy.”

“Not much longer now Yev.” Ian assured him. 

“Will you push me on the swings?”

“Sure. Go pick one and I’ll be there in a minute.” 

When Yev was dashing away and out of earshot Mickey smiled cautiously at the redhead. “Come by the house tonight when the kid’s in bed. I’ll text you the address. After 9. Okay?”

To Mickey’s surprise, Ian placed his hand gently on the back of his neck and stroked his thumb down the thick tendon to his shoulder. Was 27 years old too late to find out you still had erogenous zones you never knew about?

“Okay Mick.” Ian murmured gently and moved away slowly to find Yev in the park. 

Yev had been in a deep sleep since about 7:30. The park had worn him out enough that he fell asleep watching cartoons after dinner. Mickey tidied up the house and put some pizza rolls in the oven. At 9:15 there was a gentle tap on the back door. Before the door was even fully open Ian had pushed inside, glanced around the room once and then grabbed Mickey by the forearms. 

“Hey...” Mickey inhaled and gasped at the same time. 

“Where’s Yev?”

“Bed. Sleeping.”

Ian grinned wickedly. “Good. Been wanting to do this for a long time...”

Mickey pouted in confusion but all was very quickly revealed when Ian pushed him firmly against the kitchen counter and kissed him deeply. Their tongues danced together, fingers gripped tightly in fabric. 

“Jesus Doc.” Mickey panted for breath when they pulled away. “I bet you’re real good at CPR.”

“Just wanted to see if it was as good as I imagined.” Ian smiled sweetly. 

“Oh yeah? And?” Mickey chuckled. 

Ian dipped his head and pressed his lips to Mickey’s. “Perfect.”

“You’re a sap.”

“Guilty as charged. Are those pizza rolls?”

Mickey could barely keep up with the energetic and gorgeous man in his kitchen. “Yeah.”

“Awesome!” 

“I can’t believe you think Lethal Weapon is better than Die Hard.” Mickey grumbled when they were sprawled on his well-worn couch in front of the tv. 

“I can’t believe you think Die Hard is a Christmas movie.” Ian retorted. 

“Oh don’t even get me started on that, Red. It’s literally set in the holidays!”

Ian smirked wickedly. “Aww. Is this our first fight?”

“What did you think that was outside the diner?” Mickey raised a brow. 

“We hadn’t really defined anything then.” Ian shrugged casually. 

“And we have now?” Mickey looked slightly perturbed. 

“Don’t worry. Still not proposing marriage. But I thought we kinda agreed to see where this goes...”

Mickey swallowed around the lump in his throat and nodded. “Yeah...”

“That means I’m not fucking anyone else.”

Mickey’s eyes widened. “Right.”

“And I’d kinda like it if you didn’t either. If that’s not asking too much.” 

Ian didn’t know where this burst of confidence was coming from but it seemed like a good idea to set out his expectations from the start. No use getting more involved just to find out Mickey was singing from a completely different hymn book. 

“I don’t fuck around.” Mickey retorted sharply. 

“I didn’t think you did. I’m just tryna be honest with you. Be upfront, you know.” Ian soothed him with a smile. 

“Okay. Sure.”

Ian smiled beautifully and pushed himself up on his elbows to kiss Mickey tenderly. It was brief and gentle but set them both on fire. 

“Mick?”

“Yeah Red?”

“You like me enough to give me the last pizza roll?”

Mickey scoffed a laugh. “Fuck off. I don’t even like Yev that much.”

Ian gasped and started to laugh. “How about we share?”

Mickey grabbed up the lone pizza roll and popped it between his teeth. He wiggled his eyebrows at Ian, who grinned at this light and playful side to the man who often seemed so serious. He dipped his head and took the other end of the roll in his teeth. Their lips brushed as they eat bit off their tiny bit of food and they pulled back to chew. Ian smiled broadly at Mickey. “Best one yet.”

“Hmm.” Mickey agreed. “Tastes good.”

Ian ran his hands down Mickey’s shins where they rested beside him. When Mickey glanced back at the tv Ian suddenly grabbed his ankles and yanked hard so the smaller man shot down the couch and landed flat on his back with a disgruntled huff. 

“Got me where you want me now, Red?”

Ian grinned brightly and moved to lean over him, wriggling to settle in the cradle of Mickey’s hips without crushing him. “God yes.”

They kissed again, this time taking it slow and learning all the contours and movements of the other person. Even though it was slower it lost none of its intensity. For Mickey, he’d never been in a proper relationship. Not even with his son’s mother. A couple of guys over the years had turned his head and he’d returned for a repeat performance, but ultimately it never went anywhere. Once his mind turned to his son and how it would impact him a cold shiver of fear would go through him and he’d bolt. It had never really bothered him before. It wasn’t like he was missing out on a grand romance or anything. He didn’t even really like kissing. He did it because it was expected by guys when they were fucking. Now, though. Ugh. It was like he was going to die if they didn’t stop to take a breath and he would die of grief if they did stop. 

Ian rolled his hips into Mickey’s and smirked against Mickey’s neck when he heard the gentle gasp it received. He sucked on the skin and inhaled the masculine smell of Mickey that seemed to drive him wild. 

“This okay?” Ian murmured. 

Mickey responded by wrapping his legs around Ian’s hips and holding tight. Ian was hard as a rock in his jeans and it was a delicious feeling to push his crotch into Mickey’s ass. The friction made him tingle all over his body. 

“More.” Mickey finally articulated. 

“You sure?”

“I’m not a blushing virgin, Red.”

Ian giggled as he reached between their bodies to palm at Mickey’s dick. After a moment he flicked his wrist to unbutton Mickey’s jeans and Mickey gasped sharply when Ian’s hand disappeared into his pants and circled his throbbing length. 

“Holy shit.”

Ian leaned away from Mickey and smiled down at him. “That’s good right?”

“You gonna keep fishin’ for compliments or you gonna get on me?”

“Second one. Definitely the second one.”

“Good choice.” Mickey leered. 

Ian put on a serious expression. “I need a condom and some lube, stat.”

Mickey rolled his eyes but his twitching lips betrayed him. He gave it up and smiled. 

“Fuck first, role play later.”

Mickey’s bedroom was exactly how Ian would have pictured it if he’d given it any thought. Basic, functional but lacking in color. Mickey didn’t strike him as the type to worry about his curtains matching his carpet or adding a splash of color to make it pop. His bed was made, sort of, and his clothes were in his closet. 

“Very neat.” Ian remarked. 

“Can’t yell at the kid to tidy his room if mine is a dump.” Mickey shrugged and closed the bedroom door. He moved the ottoman from the end of the bed to in front of the door so Yev would be able to open it an inch but not barge in on them. Ian’s heart clenched uncomfortably at the motion. Mickey knew how to get privacy if he needed it. Ian shook off the irrational jealousy and pulled his t-shirt over his head. 

“Huh.” Mickey exhaled, staring at Ian’s sculpted chest and abs. “Might need that CPR after all.”

Ian stalked closer and back Mickey up against his closet door. “You ready for this Mick?”

Mickey levelled Ian with a look that could only mean one thing. “Bring it on, Red.”

“Oh I’m gonna.”

“I got two rules.” Mickey bit down on his bottom lip. “Firstly, you gotta fuck me hard and fast. Secondly, you gotta fuck me quietly.”

Ian snorted a laugh at the second point. He was expecting something dramatic but Dad-Mickey, the one with his son as his number one priority, was still there in the background. 

“I can do that.” Ian nodded confidently. 

Mickey brows raised to his hairline. “Bring. It. On.”

In less than five minutes both men were naked, rolling around the bed as they tussled for dominance. It was all for show. Mickey was definitely in charge. Ian flipped them so Mickey was on his back with his dick down Ian’s throat before he could catch his next breath. 

“Oh Jesus Christ.” Mickey panted. 

Ian pulled off and looked up at Mickey. “Just Ian is fine.”

Mickey plunged his hand into Ian’s hair and pushed his face back to his crotch. “Less talking, more sucking.”

Ian took him back into his mouth and all the way into his throat until Mickey’s high pitched whine was the only noise in the room. Judging by the tremble in the older man’s thighs, Ian could sense the edge getting closer. He moved lower to tease at Mickey’s balls, that masculine taste making him leak pre-come all over the bed below him. 

“Fuuuuck.”

“Soon.” Ian breathed softly and it made Mickey’s legs break out in goosebumps when it tickled his damp, sensitive skin. 

The darker man nearly bucked Ian off the bed when his tongue moved lower again. This time is was tracing a firm path through Mickey’s crease until it reached the furled muscle that held the key to Ian’s pleasure. He worked in a steady rhythm to both tease and prepare Mickey. He added a finger and Mickey writhed around in unashamed ecstasy. 

“More.” He grunted. 

“Lube.”

“Fuck.”

Mickey had to scramble away to the bedside table to get the lube and threw it at Ian. He resumed his previous position and waited for Ian to get going again. When he didn’t Mickey looked to see what the hold up could be and found Ian using his fingernail to rip the plastic wrapper from the brand new bottle. 

“Hurry up!” He barked. 

Ian shot him a glare but inside he was weirdly thrilled that this was a new bottle of lube. 

“Coulda opened it up when you bought it.”

“I don’t bring guys here to fuck.” Mickey defended himself hotly. 

Ian glanced at the ottoman blocking the door and raised an eyebrow. Mickey blushed deeply to his roots. 

“I like to jerk off without my kid bursting in on me. Call me old-fashioned, but my four year old seeing my dick seems kinda icky.”

Ian snorted another laugh. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d laughed so much while sporting a raging erection at the same time. He’d dated a few guys in college, nothing serious but certainly resembling a relationship of sorts, yet none of them made his stomach ache with laughter and desire at once. Until Mickey. This guy was changing it up for Ian in so many ways. Finally the lube was open and Ian coated his fingers with plenty of the viscous liquid. Without any warning he sank two fingers into his lover and watched with satisfaction as Mickey had to stuff his fist in his mouth so he didn’t break his own second rule. 

“That’s it Mick. Ride my fingers.” Ian coached. He curled them slowly and almost immediately found that sweet spot he was looking for. Mickey’s cock was so hard it was resting back against his stomach, twitching and leaking on his pale white skin. 

“Oh my God.”

“Just Ian.” The redhead teased and lowered his head to suckle on the purple head of Mickey’s neglected cock. 

“You wanna come like this?” Ian asked gently. 

“Wanna ride you.”

That right there was a three-word love story to Ian. His last sort-of boyfriend loved to be dominated by him and always wanted to be pinned beneath Ian. He’d tried riding him once but gave up after a couple of minutes and went back to having Ian do all of the work. Mickey offering it up straight off the bat made Ian get even harder. With only a hint of disappointment that he had to let go of Mickey’s wondrous ass, Ian withdrew his fingers and pressed a gentle kiss to each of Mickey’s balls. Ian broke his own personal record for getting a condom on and lubed up ready to go. Mickey didn’t have time to mourn the loss of his fingers before the blunt head of Ian’s impressive dick was pressed against him. 

“You ready for me?” Ian whispered. 

Mickey smiled, looking a little dazed. “Let’s do this, Doc.”

Inch by inch, Ian marvelled at Mickey’s form as he sank down on him and had to hold his breath so he didn’t scream out loud and wake Yev. He didn’t want anything to happen to spook Mickey and stop whatever the fuck this was between them. Ian got the feeling if Yev was brought into the equation it would send Mickey running for the hills. 

“Just like that.” Mickey breathed huskily and gripped Ian’s shoulders, rolling his hips steadily. 

Ian lifted his head to kiss Mickey, which forced him deeper and caused Mickey’s toes to curl. 

It was an out of body experience for both men, although neither knew it about the other. They changed positions numerous times, something that thrilled Ian. He discovered that pounding into Mickey from behind was as good as the second coming of Christ, but nothing quite matched up to purposefully rolling into Mickey while locking green eyes on blue. It was almost spiritual. 

“I’m close, Ian.” The brunet warned on a panting breath. 

“Thank fuck.” Ian grunted and picked up the pace. Hearing his real name on Mickey’s lips was enough to send tingles down his spine. 

“Now, Ian. Now. Fuck. Oh fuck.” Mickey chanted lowly and then silently screamed when he erupted all over his own stomach and chest. 

Ian was mesmerized by the vision before him. It sent that familiar tingle from the base of his spine to his cock and he knew it was all over. He came hard, screwing up his face in concentration so he didn’t accidentally wake up the neighborhood.

When they were both finished and reeling from the aftershocks, Ian pulled out and discarded the condom in the trash. He slumped beside Mickey and turned his head. 

“Wow.” He grinned. 

Mickey was completely strung out. “Indeed.”

They fell into a comfortable silence until Mickey spoke in his post-fuck slurred voice. 

“You staying?”

“That okay?”

Mickey grunted his assent and allowed sleep to claim him. Ian closed his eyes and willed his heart rate to return to safe territory. Mickey was a tough nut to crack, but he was the best fuck Ian had ever had. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey opens up to Ian about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I’m so pleased with how well-received this story has been so far! I was so nervous to stray into au! Thanks to everyone who has read and commented 🧡

Ian woke up and immediately knew he wasn’t in his own bed. His brain took a couple of seconds to kick into gear but he finally remembered the night before, smiling to himself as he acknowledged he was so well-fucked that his mind was jumbled. 

“You need to go.” Mickey mumbled from nearby, his voice slurred with sleep. 

Ian felt a pang of regret twisting in his gut. 

“Don’t want Yev to find me in your bed?” He sighed sadly and turned onto his back. 

Mickey raised his head from the pillow and Ian almost smiled at how his dark hair was messed up and sticking out. “Huh? I asked you if you had to go?”

Ian chuckled with relief. “Oh. Didn’t realize it was a question. I got nowhere to be. My shift starts at 6 tonight.”

“Cool. Gotta get the kid to school soon then head to work.” Mickey yawned. 

Ian recalled their conversations the night before where Mickey gave him some details about his home situation. Yev’s mother Svetlana was remarried and also a wicked stepmother (Mickey’s words). Yev didn’t want to leave his father and live with the new family so he kicked up enough of a fuss to get them to agree Mickey could keep him like 90% of the time. It seemed to suit everyone so far. Ian smiled to himself when he thought about the night before. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d clicked so hard with someone. 

“Want me to hide out here while you get Yev sorted?”

Mickey scoffed. “Why? You worried about confusing him? It’s all good, Red. He’s four years old. I’ll just tell him you stayed late to watch a movie or some shit.”

“Alright grumpy ass. I was just checking.”

Mickey sighed. “Look, I don’t introduce guys to my kid. Ever. But you’ve already met him and he likes you. I’ll handle it from our end.”

“Fair enough.” Ian agreed and curled his large body around Mickey’s smaller one. “I like waking up like this.”

Mickey smiled softly and ran his hand up Ian’s bare torso. “There’s worse ways.”

Mickey’s alarm went off and completely ruined the mood. 

Yev’s cute face scrunched up with confusion which quickly morphed into delight when he saw Ian sitting in his kitchen eating a bowl of Lucky Charms. 

“Ian!” He blurted out excitedly and launched himself at the redhead. 

Ian managed to lift the bowl above Yev’s head just before he crashed into him and squeezed his ribs in a tight hug. “Hey kiddo.”

“Why are you here?” Yev crawled into Ian’s lap and settled. 

Ian smiled down at the gorgeous little boy with his dirty blond hair that he must get from his mother and his bright blue eyes that were a replica of Mickey’s. “I came by last night to watch a movie with your Dad. It got really late so I just crashed here.”

Mickey appeared in the doorway. “You got five minutes, kid. Brush your teeth and get your book bag.”

Yev clambered down from Ian’s lap and ran to the door. He stopped and turned back to Ian. 

“Next time you come by to watch a movie, can I watch it with you too?”

Mickey closed his eyes briefly when he thought he was safe but Ian caught it. He sighed softly and looked back at Yev. 

“Not sure when that’s gonna be, Yev. But I’ll let you know.”

Yev smiled and dashed away, leaving Mickey and Ian alone in the small kitchen. The brunet filled a travel cup with coffee that was strong enough to stand a spoon up in it and Ian quietly finished his cereal. 

“I gotta head out. You can use the shower or whatever before you go if you want.” 

Ian shook his head. “It’s cool. I’ll head home.”

“I...uh...had a good time last night.”

“Me too.” Ian smiled. 

Yev bounded back into the room. “I’m ready, Daddy.”

“Okay kiddo. Say goodbye to Ian.” Mickey picked up his keys.

Yev darted over and gave his favorite doctor another tight hug. “Bye Ian.”

“See ya, Yev.”

Mickey herded the youngster out of the door so he was in with a shot of getting him to breakfast club and the auto shop open on time. He glanced back at Ian and smiled softly. “Just pull the door closed behind you.”

Ian nodded, feeling slightly bereft that his perfect night was coming to an end. “See ya Mick.”

“Bye Ian.”

Ian’s shift was long and painful. His thoughts were filled with Mickey and it made it hard to concentrate on anything else. They’d been texting back and forth all night, just superficial niceties about what they were both up to, but after midnight it had gone quiet on Mickey’s end so Ian guessed he was asleep. 

“What’s wrong Sweetie?” Josie asked him and squeezed his bicep. It was a thankfully quiet night but he found himself unable to sleep in the on call room at 3am. 

Ian smiled. “Nothing. Why?”

“You don’t seem yourself.”

“I met someone. And I really like him.”

Josie nodded at his confession and waited for Ian to tell her the actual problem. When he didn’t she waved her hand impatiently. 

“And...”

“And I don’t know where it’s going. It’s really early days but I’m in kinda deep already. I’m worried I might just be someone to mess around with for him.”

Josie sighed and wrapped her arms around Ian’s shoulders. “Oh honey. Welcome to the murky waters of romance.”

“That’s it? That’s your advice?” Ian chuckled. 

“My advice is be honest with him. You don’t have to declare undying love but at least let him know this isn’t a game for you. I been married 27 years and it ain’t an accident that my husband and I know how to talk to each other.”

Ian watched her float away and rubbed his eyes tiredly. _Tell Mickey I’ve caught a bad case of the feels? Fuck._

At the end of Ian’s shift he found himself heading to the diner for breakfast with the gang. It was only 8am and they pretty much had the place to themselves. 

“Coffee?” Their regular waitress appeared and Ian nodded as he yawned. 

“Thanks Brenda.”

She took their orders and left them to chat about the weirdest cases they’d had through the night. Ian was in the middle of laughing at one of Daphne’s anecdotes when there was a loud knocking on the glass beside his head. He jumped and turned, relaxing into a huge grin when he saw Mickey on the sidewalk with a nervous smile on his face. Ian lifted his hand into a wave, Mickey tilted his chin to indicate he wanted Ian to come outside. 

“Excuse me for a minute.”

Ian virtually climbed over Paul and Josie. Daphne narrowed her eyes accusingly. 

“What’s Mickey Milkovich doing here?” 

Ian just grinned as he dashed outside, skidding to a halt in front of Mickey. 

“Smooth, Doc.” Mickey teased. 

Ian shrugged and stepped closer, wanting to be near enough to smell Mickey’s skin. Ian had never even noticed a guy’s natural smell before but somehow this one had him going crazy for it. 

“What’s up Mick?”

“Just heading to work. Saw your lighthouse beacon from way back there.” Mickey pointed to Ian’s flame red hair. “Thought I’d say hey.”

“You could come inside you know. Have breakfast with us...”

Mickey shook his head. “Gotta open up the shop. You around tonight?”

Ian sighed. “Working. I’m on nights until Wednesday. Then I’m off until Saturday.”

Mickey nodded. “Cool. Come by the house whenever.”

“Yeah?” Ian grinned in surprise. 

Mickey leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You think I’m passing up on a repeat performance? Fuck no.”

Ian’s smile slipped slightly. “Sure Mick.”

Mickey tilted his head towards the window where all of Ian’s colleagues were staring at them. “They know about you?”

“Being gay? Yeah. Everyone knows.”

“Good.” Mickey nodded and paused for a beat before he leapt closer and grabbed Ian in a deep kiss. Ian responded almost immediately and held Mickey close as they kissed like sweethearts returning from war. Finally Mickey pulled away and threw Ian a wink. “You know where I live.”

Ian was rooted to the spot as he watched Mickey walk away. Actually, it was more of a strut. Cocky asshole. A knocking on the glass alerted Ian that his friends were still here and he saw the plates of food on their table. When he got inside it was Daphne that spoke first. 

“Oh hell no! Tell me you are not fooling around with him?” She hollered. 

Ian scowled. “Lay off him, Daff.”

“Ian...it’s _Mickey Milkovich_. Do you know what that means? It’s one degree of separation from Terry Milkovich, that’s what it means!”

Josie reached out to pat Ian on the arm. “He’s very handsome.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Ian giggled. 

“I’m warning you right now. This won’t end well.” Daphne muttered. 

“Maybe not.” Ian shrugged. “But I won’t know unless I try.”

Josie winked at him and abruptly changed the subject to something about her daughter’s third trimester and Ian thanked his lucky stars for the marvel that was Nurse Josie. 

In the midst of Ian’s growing infatuation he completely overlooked the minor detail of Mickey being on probation. It was only when Mickey had replied to a text from Ian asking when he wanted to meet up did it come to light once again. Mickey told him he would be back from his probation check in at 8, so Ian should come by after that. With a pizza. 

Ian duly arrived with a large pepperoni at 8:30 and found the house was lacking the energetic youngster he’d grown fond of in the last few weeks. 

“Where’s Yev?” He pouted. 

Mickey chuckled. “At his mom’s for a couple of nights. Good to know the real reason you wanna visit though...”

Ian smirked and pulled Mickey into his arms so he could kiss him softly. “So I like your kid. Sue me.”

They grabbed the pizza box and some beers and headed to the living room. 

“How’d your check in go?” Ian asked casually while they ate. 

Mickey shrugged. “Fine. S’not like I was gonna reoffend. I just gotta tick their boxes and wait for it to be over.”

Ian nodded. “You okay telling me what happened?”

Mickey chewed slowly. When he swallowed he took a gulp of beer. “I don’t mind telling you. But it’s not exactly a wholesome story. I don’t want it to change how you see us.”

Ian tilted his head and gazed at Mickey. “I’m not sure there’s much you could say that would change how I see you.”

Mickey rolled his eyes skyward. “Alright Doc, let the record show I warned you.”

Ian nodded and grabbed another slice, settling back to hear Mickey’s story. 

“My dad...the one you’ve heard so much about...well he’s the biggest fag hater in the country. He thinks we are all defective and should be snuffed out. Him and Hitler? Probably drinking buddies in another life. Anyway...” Mickey swigged more beer. “...he came home early one day from a drug run and found me fooling around with a kid from the neighborhood. He beat the shit outta me. Pistol whipped me until my brain was comin outta my ears.”

“Jesus fuck Mick.” Ian gasped. “When was this?”

“Few years back. Think I was maybe 22 or 23.” Mickey shrugged. 

Ian dropped his slice back in the box, suddenly losing his appetite. 

“He called in a favor with a Russian sex trafficking gang he’d worked with for a while and scored me a new bride, fresh off the boat.”

Ian paled and shivered. “Yev’s mom?”

Mickey nodded. “Yup. Svetlana.”

“Jesus Christ.” 

Mickey cocked a brow and smiled sadly. “I feel like this is kinda affecting you more than it ever did me...”

“Are you serious?” Ian hissed. 

Mickey chuckled softly. “Nah. It fucked me up pretty bad for a while. I was forced to marry this Russian chick who barely spoke English and then knocked her up on our wedding night. I felt bad for her too. Like she kept telling me, once she learned the language, she was shipped to America to be a whore and ended up marrying 130 pounds of Ukrainian pussy.”

Ian’s jaw swung open and he stared at Mickey. “The fuck...”

Mickey leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Spoiler alert...my dad is not a nice guy.”

Ian spluttered into laughter. “No shit.”

“So...long story short. I was married to Lana, Yev arrived and about two years ago she was working for some bad people down by the docks. It was basically admin for their business. One guy took a liking to her and when she knocked him back he decided to try to take what he wanted anyway. She fought him off but he bruised her up pretty bad. I lost my shit. Tracked him down and nearly killed him.”

Ian’s heart clenched at the look of desolation in Mickey’s eyes. “That’s understandable. He hurt your wife.”

Mickey snorted. “Yeah. In no sense of the word.”

“But you like her. Respect her.” Ian stated. 

Mickey nodded firmly. “She’s had a tough life. And yeah, marrying a Russian hooker wasn’t one of my top options but she didn’t ask for it either.”

“So what happened to the guy...”

With a heavy sigh, Mickey ran a hand through his hair. “He snitched when he got to the hospital. I was picked up, charged with attempted murder and sent to prison on remand until my court hearing. I was in there for nearly a year.” His expression turned to a scowl. “I had a decent lawyer so the charge was downgraded to felony assault. I copped for it to reduce the sentence. Got five years, but the eleven months I’d already served was knocked off and they converted the rest to probation. Gotta be squeaky clean until I’m at least thirty.”

Mickey finally smiled and broke into a full grin when Ian smiled back at him. 

“And Svetlana is now married to someone else?”

“Yeah. After I beat on one of the top guys at her job she had to leave...”

“Funny that.” Ian teased. 

Mickey flipped him off. “She answered an ad on Craigslist to be an au pair for this guy who’d lost his wife. Max, that’s his name. She got the job and within a year, when I was locked up, she managed to make him fall for her. I signed the divorce paperwork the day after I was released and they got married about six months ago. Yev likes the guy really...and his kids...they’re not bad people. He’s just kinda shy and likes to be by himself sometimes. That’s why he wanted to stay here after I got out. Plus, I think he feels guilty leaving me on my own.”

Ian chuckled and nodded. “Seems like that kinda kid.”

“Yeah. Dunno how I ended up with someone so sweet calling me Dad. But I’ll take it. So...now you’ve heard the dirty secrets of my life. Wanna run for the hills?”

“Nope.” Ian replied simply. 

“Cool. What about you Doc? What’s your story?” 

Ian shook his head. “Save my story for another day. Right now I wanna fuck you here on this couch.”

Mickey rolled his head from side to side. “You’re used to gettin what you want, right.”

Ian blushed and dipped his head. 

“Good thing that’s exactly what I want too.”

Ian’s head shot up to look at Mickey and he jokingly glared at the mischievous sparkle in Mickey’s gorgeous eyes. “You dick.”

Mickey chuckled happily. “Finish your pizza, man. We got all night.”

When the pizza was gone they got comfortable and wasted little time getting to the good stuff. Ian loved kissing. Ever since his first fumbled effort with Roger Spikey when he was barely 13 years old, kissing just did it for Ian. He knew he was good at it. The whimpers and pleading for more that he got from guys let him know just how good he was at it. But kissing Mickey was like something else entirely. It was having everything lined up perfectly and standing back to enjoy the moment...utter bliss. If Ian had to equate it to a particular feeling it would be like going to the shopping mall and getting the last space in the parking lot and then finding out that whatever you came to buy was half price all on the same day. Just...perfect. It was starting to heat up. Lazy pecks and teasing tongues soon gave way to sucking on top lips and nibbling on bottom lips. Hands ghosted over fabric. Ian closed his eyes and tried to think back to his medical school training to recall if there was a technical name for getting hard so fast that it was painful. Like the skin and muscle wasn’t prepared to be turned on so hard and so fast that it panicked and made the blood rush south even faster. That’s was he was dealing with right then. He was about to die at the hands of a man that probably had no idea just how fucking amazing he really was. When Ian couldn’t take any more he was about to pull away but Mickey beat him to it. He wrenched back from Ian with force and Ian belatedly realized it was because Mickey’s phone was vibrating on the table. The name ‘Crazy Russian Lady’ flashed on the screen and Mickey groaned at the intrusion. 

“What?” He snapped into the handset sharply. 

Ian could make out and rambling, loud and heavily accented female voice on the other end. 

“Is he okay? Right. Well put him on. No you’re not interrupting anything. I was eating dinner...” Mickey grunted at, presumably, his ex-wife. 

Ian sat back on his heels when Mickey’s voice changed to a slightly higher pitch that was infinitely more friendly. 

“Hey kiddo. I know. It’s okay. You don’t need to be scared. It was just a dream. I’m right here at home waiting for you to come back on Saturday. Yup. There’s no monsters in your room. I checked just before you called. Uh-huh. I promise. Okay. Time for you to go to sleep, kiddo. I love you too. Be brave, buddy. Goodnight.”

When Mickey disconnected the call and tossed his phone back on the table, Ian pounced on him and kissed him deeply. 

“Is it weird that seeing you being a Dad is really hot?” He breathed harshly and nuzzled Mickey’s face with his nose. 

“You’re not gonna start calling me Daddy, are you? That shit’s just creepy.” Mickey shuddered. 

Ian giggled and got back to the kissing, marvelling at the gentle sighs it drew out of Mickey. 

“Lube is in the bedroom...” The older man murmured when Ian made a move to slip his fingers down the back of his jeans. 

“Then we should definitely be in the bedroom.” Ian replied. 

“Follow me, Red.” 

_“I think I’d follow you anywhere, Mick.”_ Ian thought to himself as he watched Mickey get up from the couch and head to his bedroom. He pushed aside the unfamiliar anxiety and raced to catch up with Mickey.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian realizes he’s in deep when a booty call does not go to plan.

The second time Ian woke up in Mickey’s bed he was alone and the pillow on the other side was stone cold. Mickey was long gone. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone to check the time, an involuntary smile curling his lips when he saw he had a message from the man himself. 

“ _Hey sleeping beauty. You were out cold so I left you to sleep. Never know when you heroic lifesavers will get your next nap. Help yourself to breakfast. Gimme a call whenever. M.”_

Ian spent the rest of his day hanging with his brother Carl, who was four years younger than him and still in college. Growing up, Ian was always closer to his elder brother, Lip. His Irish twin. But now Lip lived in New York so they didn’t see each other often. Carl was still at home and was around more. As a kid, Carl had always seemed a little slow. He was more interested in blowing things up than learning about stuff that’d get him through school. But when he was in his final year of high school he met a girl who was smart and had a future ahead of her. She fell for Carl but made it clear that he wouldn’t hold her back. He either got his shit together or she would leave him behind. Carl was so in love that he studied every day and passed his finals, discovering along the way that he had an aptitude for science. Particularly the branch of science that was concerned with explosives. He bagged a scholarship to UofC majoring in Chemical Sciences. Carl Gallagher was on track to blow things up for a living and if that isn’t an example of following childhood dreams then Ian didn’t know what was. The Gallagher boys went for a run, caught a movie and then Ian treated Carl to dinner at Sizzlers. They rarely got to hang out just the two of them so it was a great opportunity to catch up. After dinner they weren’t ready to end their brotherly day of fun so took up a spot in a booth at the Alibi and sent a text to all of their siblings and Carl’s girlfriend Kelly to see if they wanted to join. 

“You wanna invite anyone...” Carl smirked and wiggled his brows. 

Ian blushed and shrugged but Carl caught it. 

“You do! You’re dating someone! I hope it’s better than that last moron...what was his name? Archer?”

“Thatcher. And yes, he was a moron.” Ian snickered. “Who gave _really_ bad head.”

“TMI, brother.” Carl rolled his eyes and grinned at Ian. “So who is he?”

“A guy I met at work.”

“A doctor?”

“Nah. His kid came in with a broken arm.”

Carl sighed heavily. “Ah shit Ian. He’s not some closet case with a family, is he? You suffered that scenario enough with whatshisface...Mark?”

“Martin. Jesus, how do you remember the very detailed failure of all my relationships but never remember a single one of their names?” Ian chuckled and tossed a peanut at Carl’s head. 

“Hey...at least I listen to the details! I can’t be wasting all my brain cells on you.” 

Ian smiled wistfully and sat back in his seat to relax. He loved hanging out with Carl. The world was a simpler place with his little brother beside him. That balance was important when he had a lot of shit to see at work. 

“He isn’t in the closet. It’s complicated...but he’s out. He even kissed me in front of my work gang.”

“In front of the wolf pack? Guys got balls!” Carl laughed. “Have you told your Work Mom about him?”

“Yeah...she thinks he’s very handsome.” Ian tingled as he smiled when he thought of Josie. 

Within the next half hour various Gallaghers and their extended group filtered into the bar and filled their booth. It was nice to catch up with everyone in one place. Ian still lived at home, in the converted basement with its private entrance and relatively good soundproofing. It’s not possible to fully soundproof the Gallagher family. His eldest sister Fiona was the head of the house. She was relaxed and didn’t poke her nose in Ian’s life too often, just to make sure he was eating and sleeping regularly. Ian could promise neither. Liam, the youngest, was in high school and on track to exceed even Lip in his GPA. He was a smart kid and wanted to be an economist, which raised a few eyebrows in the family. Mostly due to none of them really knowing what an economist actually did. His younger sister Debbie lived in her own apartment with her daughter Franny. She was a certified welder and scored a regular contract with a big firm when she graduated. The money from that, plus the steady income she was now getting from Franny’s deadbeat dad, meant that Debbie could afford a decent place to live and have some independence. The Gallagher house was pretty quiet these days. Everyone going about their lives and doing their own thing. He glanced around the group, from Fiona to Vee to Kelly to Kev to Debbie and everyone else crammed at their table. Would Mickey fit in here? All of Ian’s instincts screamed that Mickey would despise every second of this. He was honest about the fact that he hated large groups (something about always watching his back in the exercise yard) and he hated loud noises (his house growing up was chaotic, gunshots were commonplace.) Mickey would be uncomfortable and out of his depth surrounded by the people Ian loved. It made him feel a little sad. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and fired off a text to Mickey. One that he probably wouldn’t have sent if he wasn’t three pitchers down with another lined up. 

“ _Thinking about you_.”

His phone rested on the table and he continued to chat to Carl, keeping one eye on the screen. He didn’t have to wait long for a reply. 

“ _Which part of me?_ ”

Ian’s grin was a complete giveaway and Carl rolled his eyes. 

“Please tell me you are not sexting mid-conversation, brother.”

Ian smirked. “Not yet.”

Carl huffed loudly and turned to Kelly. “We’ve lost him. He’s only gonna be thinking with his dick from now on.”

Kelly giggled and tried to sneak a look at Ian’s phone. “No nudes yet.”

“I’m working on it.” Ian teased. 

“ _thinking about all of you. And parts of me too...but I guess they don’t count cuz they’re inside you..._ ”

“YOU CAN’T SEND THAT!” Fiona gasped from behind Ian, reading over his shoulder. 

Ian chuckled and pocketed his phone. “Sorry sis. Don’t mean to shock you and your delicate soul.”

The vibration in his pocket indicated Mickey had replied immediately. Ian plucked his phone out again and read his message, eyes widening as he scanned the words. 

“ _Oh they count. I’m thinking you need to be here in half an hour so I can show you how much they count._ ”

Ian was out of the door to the Alibi with barely a goodbye to his family. 

In the forty minutes it took to ride the L to Mickey’s neighborhood and knock on his door, Ian’s erection was still pushing firmly against the zipper of his jeans. Which was not ideal when the person opening the door was not Mickey. Instead he came face to face with a stern-faced woman who would be kinda beautiful if she smiled. But she wasn’t smiling. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her ice blue eyes were boring into him like they were trying to see into his soul. It did have one positive effect, however, and that was that he immediately sobered up. All the whimsical thoughts of being drunk and horny and banging Mickey in the hallway as soon as he answered the door went flying out of his mind and he felt the alcohol buzz leaving his body. 

“Uh...hi...” Ian stammered. 

“You are doctor, yes.” She spoke in a way that made Ian sure that it was a statement and not a question. He nodded anyway and she tipped her head to one side. 

“All these weeks I hear ‘Ian this, Ian that’ over and over.” She drawled. 

“From Mickey?” Ian frowned in confusion. 

The woman shook her head in dismay. “From my Zhenya. My Yevgeny. He does not stop speaking about how amazing the doctor is.” 

“Oh! You must be Yev’s mom!” Ian finally caught on. “Svetlana, right?”

“That is right. You are here to rub dicks with my ex-husband?”

Well that certainly sorted out Ian’s inappropriate boner situation. The blood in his body rushed away from his dick and up to his face. He could feel the heat in his ears. 

“I...uh...well...” 

She finally smiled at Ian and damn it she was actually beautiful. “I say this just once so listen very carefully to me. My boy is everything to me. Do not be fooled by thinking that as he lives with Misha that I care less about my son. I would die for my son...”

“I understand.” Ian nodded nervously. 

“I’m sure you understand that I would also kill for my son. He is quiet boy. Sensitive boy. If I find out you have hurt him in any way you will out how creatively I will hurt you back.”

Ian nodded wildly and Svetlana finally gave him a proper smile. Not the twisted smirk from before but a proper smile that made her eyes glitter. 

“I am pleased you agree. Misha is good father. That was not always the way it was but that is how it is now and I will not go back to that. Look after him, too.”

Ian smiled back gently. “I will. Of course I will.”

There was a beat of silence before footsteps got louder in the hallway. 

“The fuck are you standing in the...oh...hey.” Mickey greeted his guest with a twitch of a smile before glancing towards Svetlana. 

“Come along Ian. Zhenya is watching cartoons.” Svetlana smiled serenely and headed to the living room. 

Ian stared at Mickey, who hopped anxiously from one foot to the other. 

“Sorry, man. They just showed up. Yev wants to stay at home tonight...”

Ian smiled sweetly. “That’s cool. You want me to head out?”

Mickey looked up at him. The ball was in his court and the pressure to make the right choice was hanging over him. 

“I want you to stay. But...uh...you wanna hang out with my kid all night?” 

Ian gave him another smile, this time gentler and holding back any pressure. “That’s fine with me. But if you want me to wait, that’s cool too. We go at your pace, Mick.”

For another second there was silence between them. Mickey finally smiled and tipped his head inside. 

“Come on...he’s gonna be happy to see you.”

“I’m happy to see him too.” Ian replied and stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. 

Yev did a comical double take when Ian appeared in the living room while he was watching tv, glancing over and then back at the screen before turning to Ian slowly with a huge grin spreading over his face. 

“Ian!” He scrambled to his feet and darted over to the tall redhead.

Ian crouched down to be at Yev’s eye level. “Hey buddy. How’s the arm?”

Yev raised his cast and beamed. “Daddy added some more stars. And it doesn’t itch so bad now.”

“Awesome. You gonna come by next week for me to check it over at the hospital?”

Yev looked up at Mickey, who nodded. “Your appointment is on Tuesday.”

“I’ll make sure I’m there.” Ian winked. 

“You smell like beer.” Yev sniffed at him. 

Ian giggled happily. “Yeah. I was having a drink with my brother before I decided to stop by and see you guys.”

“You have a brother?” Yev’s eyes widened. 

Ian nodded and stood up, scooping Yev up and dropping him softly on the sofa and sitting beside him. 

“I’ve got three brothers. Lip is my older brother and he lives in New York...”

“Lip? That’s a funny name.”

“It’s short for Philip.”

“Oh.” Yev’s mouth formed the sound widely. 

“Lip Gallagher is your brother?” Mickey gaped at him in surprise, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Yup.”

“Damn. He was in my grade. Can’t stand that guy.” Mickey chuckled. 

Ian laughed too. “He’s an acquired taste.”

Svetlana watched them interact with a blank expression on her face. She’d never really spent any amount of time with guys Mickey had ‘dated’ over the years. This one seemed different though. 

“What about your other brothers?” Yev pulled Ian back into their conversation. 

“Carl is my middle younger brother. He’s 21 and he’s in college. He’s the one I was with today. Then Liam is the youngest. He’s in high school.” Ian explained. 

“Wow. You have a lot of brothers.” Yev grinned. 

“I have two sisters too...Fiona and Debbie. And Debbie has a little girl called Franny, so I’m an uncle too.” Ian reached over and bopped Yev on the nose. 

“That’s so cool! I have some uncles too but I don’t see them. Daddy says they won’t come around here.”

Ian glanced at Mickey, who blushed and shrugged. 

“Most of em think the same way my dad does...” 

Ian smiled sympathetically. “Well that’s just too bad.”

Svetlana coughed and picked up her bag. After a tight hug and a kiss for Yev, she turned to Mickey and Ian. 

“You wait until he is in bed before you play hide sausage, yes?”

“Nah...was thinking of just gettin down to it right here in front of Tom and Jerry.” Mickey retorted sarcastically with a scowl on his handsome face. 

Ian grinned disarmingly at the mother of the child whose father he was very much interested in. “Promise he won’t see anything he shouldn’t see.”

Svetlana pecked Mickey’s cheek and shocked Ian by doing the same to him. “I call tomorrow at 6.”

With that she was gone and left the three boys to themselves. 

“So...who wants some ice cream?” Mickey wandered into his kitchen. 

Mickey and Ian shared glances over the top of Yev’s head all night. Ian’s eyes flickered all over Mickey’s face and the brunet had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop the moan escaping him. The two men had riled each other up with text message foreplay and now they were watching shitty children’s tv with Yev. It was not an ideal situation. Mickey grabbed his phone from the table and rapidly typed out a message. Ian raised an eyebrow and reached for his own phone when it beeped. 

“ _When he goes to sleep I need to fuck._ ”

Ian smirked but didn’t reply. Instead he stood up and headed to the kitchen. A second later he called through to Mickey. 

“Hey Mick...help me with this for a second...”

When the older man entered the kitchen he was immediately pressed against the sink with Ian’s mouth attached to his own and a hand down the front of his pants. 

“Fuck you turn me on so much.” Ian wrenched himself away from Mickey’s lips but continued to squeeze his dick through his boxers. 

“We gotta stop.” Mickey groaned and pushed Ian away from him. 

“I know.”

Mickey reached up on his toes and pressed a wet kiss to Ian’s lips. “Later. I promise.”

Later came but Mickey’s promise remained unfulfilled. They lay in Mickey’s bed with the moonlight pouring into the bedroom like the romance setting had been dialled right up to the max. It made the pale skin on Mickey’s chest almost glow and Ian drooled at the smooth flesh of the man he wanted to taste so badly. Ian was distracted by a snuffling snore from the middle of the bed. Yev’s messy hair stuck up at all angles and his lips pouted in sleep, just like Mickey’s did. The youngster snuggled closer to Mickey but his feet remained pressed against Ian’s thighs under the covers. 

“Cock-blocked by a four year old. This is hilarious shit right here.” Ian chuckled softly. 

“I’m sorry, man. This isn’t how I thought tonight would go. I got you to leave your family to come over here and basically play Mary Poppins for the night. I feel like shit.” Mickey sighed heavily. 

Ian reached over Yev’s tiny body and took Mickey’s hand in his own. 

“I _choose_ to work with kids. It’s no biggie. Besides, I knew the deal when I decided I wanted to get with the hot, single dad. Don’t worry about it.” Ian whispered. 

“He’s just...he’s my everything. You know? I can’t say no to him.” Mickey admitted in a choked voice that betrayed his tough guy persona. 

“Mick...I promise. I understand. He’s a brilliant kid and he’s gonna need his dad to put him first.”

“Yeah...” Mickey smiled weakly. 

Ian squeezed his hand. “Just cuz our dads didn’t do it properly doesn’t mean shit. You got this Mick.”

“Thanks.”

Ian smiled over to him and blew him a kiss. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Mickey closed his eyes with a smile curving his lips and Ian gazed down at Yev. He really couldn’t give a shit that he’d come all this way and didn’t get laid. Playing games and watching cartoons with this little boy was already on his list of favorite things to do. And that just made him even more sure that this thing with Mickey wasn’t as casual as he’d set out to achieve at all. 

Fuck. He sent a prayer up to a god he didn’t believe in for Mickey to feel the same about him. 


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey take a step forward together.

Ian was back at work at the weekend and didn’t get another day off for nine days. Usually it would be fatigue that bothered him the most when he worked extra shifts. This time around, fatigue had moved into second place and the overriding emotion he felt was something akin to grief. He missed Mickey. He missed Yev too. The only time he got to see them was when Yev came into the fracture clinic for a check up and Ian snuck in to say hello. It lasted five minutes and only really served to make him miss the Milkovich boys more than he already did. 

A steady flow of text messages went between them but it was a struggle to match up times when they’d both be awake and able to respond. In the middle of Ian’s sixth consecutive night shift he was trying to catch up on his required reading - a six inch thick medical text about vaccinations and infectious diseases in children - but his heart and mind wasn’t in it. He sent a message to Mickey knowing he wouldn’t pick it up for at least three more hours. 

“ _I really wish you were here. Can’t wait to get off these shifts and spend time with you and Yev x”_

He didn’t have time to regret the sentimental tone to his message as he had to respond to an emergency call. When he crawled into the on call room a little after 4am his thoughts were solely on grabbing a quick nap before his next call came through. He grabbed his cell phone and lay on the cot. A message was there from Mickey and it was embarrassing how quickly Ian fumbled to open it up. 

“ _We’ve missed you too_.”

Ian fell asleep with a racing heart and a happy smile on his tired face. 

Fatigue didn’t play a part in anything when Ian got off work at ten in the morning and had five whole days and nights off to look forward to. He went straight to Mickey’s house and within ten minutes of the older man opening the door with a smile, Ian had him bent over the kitchen table. 

“I like the way you say hello, Red.” Mickey panted and gripped the edge of the table so he didn’t skid across the surface. 

Ian chuckled deep in his chest and leaned over to bite on Mickey’s ear lobe as he fucked into him. He’d discovered on their first night together that Mickey’s kink was having his ears and neck kissed, licked, sucked or bitten. Ian made it a point to hit those spots every time they fucked. It was all over in a matter of minutes. It was a damning indication of their desperation when the prep time took longer than the actual fuck. Afterwards they slumped to the floor, chests heaving with exertion and stupid grins on both their faces. 

“Missed you.” Ian confessed, his blush lost on his already pink face. 

Mickey gazed at him, his smile becoming shy. “Ditto.”

“What’ve you got goin on for the rest of the day?” Ian asked around a huge yawn. 

“Errands...stuff I don’t get to do with a kid hanging off my leg.” Mickey joked. “Grocery shopping...pay some bills. The good stuff.”

Ian yawned again as the fatigue caught up to him now that he had seen Mickey. “I should get some sleep. Wanna hang out soon?”

Mickey scratched at the back of his neck. “You could...uh...crash here. If you want to. You’d have the place to yourself until I pick Yev up at 3...”

Ian grinned happily. “Yeah? That’d be cool Mick. Thanks.”

“I’m making fajitas for dinner tonight if you maybe wanna stay for that too.”

“Definitely.” Ian nodded firmly. 

Mickey moved to stand but Ian grasped his arms and pulled him into his chest, pressing a firm kiss to Mickey’s mouth. 

“Thank you.”

Mickey smirked and climbed to his feet. “You don’t have to thank me for sex, Red.”

“I know. _You_ should be thanking _me_.” Ian teased and ducked to avoid the swatting hand aimed at his head. “I was thanking you for letting me be here. Fitting me into your schedule.”

Mickey pulled on his clothes and ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I like having you here.”

“I like being here.”

Mickey arrived home with Yev and armfuls of grocery bags a little after 4pm. The house was quiet so he left Yev to put the fruit in the bowl on the (recently disinfected) kitchen table while he headed to his bedroom. His breath caught in his chest when he saw Ian still in his bed with his head on his usual pillow but hugging Mickey’s pillow to his chest. His mouth was open slightly and he breathed soft puffs of air into the silent room. He was absolutely fucking beautiful. Mickey remembered that Ian once told him that he didn’t like to sleep too long in his transition from night shift to normal hours. It made it difficult to get his days back on track and he ended up losing more of his valuable time off. So Mickey closed the bedroom door and padded quietly to the bed. He perched next to Ian and reached out to gently stroke his red hair back from his forehead. He scraped his blunt nails through Ian’s hair and whispered his name. 

“Time to wake up, Red. Don’t wanna oversleep and be awake all night.”

Ian’s eyes fluttered open and his eyes adjusted to the light. When he realized where he was and who was stroking his hair, a sleepy and adorable smile curved his lips. 

“Hey Mick.” He murmured. “Time’s it?”

“A little after 4. Yev will be in here in a second looking for me.” Mickey warned with a smile. 

“Quick. Gimme a kiss before he sees me.” Ian grinned and turned his head. 

Mickey leaned down obligingly and slanted his mouth over Ian’s. Footsteps in the hallway made him pull away a lot sooner than he wanted to. He gave Ian an apologetic smile and stood up just as Yev opened the door with a loud clatter. 

“Ooh! Ian!” He gasped excitedly. “Are you sleeping?”

“How could he sleep through your elephant footsteps?” Mickey teased his son. 

Yev giggled. “Not an elephant!”

“You’re as loud as an elephant.” Mickey scooped Yev up and dropped him on the bed next to Ian, where they both promptly ganged up on the youngster and tickled him until he was squealing like a stuck pig. 

“I’m hungry, Daddy.” Yev announced when he was finally free from the tickle prison. 

“Okay. Go get changed and I’ll start dinner. Put your dirty clothes beside the washing machine.”

Yev dashed away and left Ian and Mickey gazing at each other. 

“Think he’s figured it out yet?” Ian smiled. 

Mickey sighed. “He’s not stupid. How would you feel about telling him we’re...I dunno...”

“Dating?” Ian clarified. 

“I guess.”

“Well if you’re not sure what we are then maybe it’s not the time to tell Yev anything. I can back off for a while...” Ian suggested but Mickey cut him off with a scowl. 

“Fuck that. I barely see you as it is. You back off any further and we’ll be strangers again!”

“So what do you want from this Mick? Am I your boyfriend? Cuz I’m fine with that. I’m happy to tell Yev that. But I know you don’t wanna confuse the kid so it’s gotta be your decision.” Ian murmured softly and reached out to hold Mickey’s hand. 

Mickey looked terrified but met Ian’s gaze. “I want that.”

Ian’s face lit up in a beautiful smile. “Good. Me too.”

“I gotta start dinner. Help yourself to a shower.” Mickey pecked his lips and stood up. 

Ian climbed out of bed and stretched his arms above his head. 

“Holy fuck.” Mickey muttered to himself as he turned and left the room before he moved the ottoman in front of the door, to hell with his hungry kid. 

Dinner was a loud affair when eating with your hands and Yevgeny Milkovich were paired together. He shrieked with laughter when half the filling fell out of Ian’s tortilla and Mickey rolled his eyes when Ian almost started a food fight with his escaped green peppers. Ian offered to help Mickey clear up but Yev firmly commandeered him to be his reading buddy for the evening. 

They sprawled out on their stomachs on the living room floor with the book laid out in front of them and Yev read aloud to Ian. He barely stumbled over any of the words and Ian was blown away by his ability. 

“How many times have you read this book kiddo?”

“Just picked it out today.” Yev answered and dug around his book bag for another one. 

“You’ve never read it before?” He checked. 

“Nope.” Yev popped the p in the word and opened up the second book. “I go bathroom first.”

Mickey flopped down on the sofa behind them and frowned at Ian’s surprised expression as Yev ran from the room. 

“What?”

“Yev reads really well.”

“Yeah. His teachers always say he’s advanced at reading. Knows lots of words.”

“He’s amazing Mick. I’m no teacher but he’s way advanced for his age. You should get him tested.”

“Tested for what?” Mickey snapped. 

“I think he’s pretty gifted, Mick. He’s gonna need his teachers to make sure he’s got work that’ll challenge him...”

“You think?” Mickey swiped at his nose. 

Ian smiled and squeezed Mickey’s ankle. “Yeah.”

They shut up when Yev returned and Ian listened intently to the second story. Afterwards, Mickey signed Yev’s homework book and let him watch tv for a while. When it was time for bed Mickey tapped the couch and Yev climbed up. 

“Just wanna talk to you about something kiddo.” Mickey said softly. 

Ian was still lounging on the floor and stayed quiet to let Mickey lead this one. 

“You know Ian hangs out here sometimes right?”

Yev beamed toothily. “Yeah. It’s so cool.”

“Good. I’m glad you like it. You see...the reason he’s here a lot is because he’s my boyfriend.”

Yev absorbed this and nodded. “Okay. Like Max was Mommy’s boyfriend before they got married?”

Mickey nodded. “Exactly.”

“That’s nice.” Yev smiled over at Ian. 

The redhead smiled brightly at the little boy. 

“So when are you getting married?” Yev asked Mickey, who’s jaw dropped to the floor so fast it made a whooshing sound. 

Ian burst into laughter and rolled onto his back on the floor. “Oh my God. That’s brilliant!”

Mickey huffed a breath. “We’re not getting married. We’ve just started dating.”

“Oh.” Yev frowned. “That’s sad.”

“You’ll get over it.” Mickey drawled. 

Ian turned back onto his side and wiped his eyes. “Yev...the thing we need to be sure about it that you’re okay. So if I’m hanging around too much or you think I’m taking up too much of your dad’s time you just gotta let me know. Nobody will be mad. Okay?”

Yev nodded. “Okay. But I don’t think that will happen. I like you being here. I want my Daddy to be happy.”

“Me too kiddo.” Ian grinned. “Come gimme a hug.”

Yev went to Ian and dropped into his arms, curling into his chest. Mickey watched them with a dopey smile on his face. 

“Come on...bed time.” He clapped his hands. 

Yev kissed Ian on the cheek and jumped to his feet. “Goodnight Ian. See you in the morning.”

Mickey raised his eyebrows. “Guess you’re staying tonight huh.”

Ian winked. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

After watching random shit on tv for a couple of hours the two men started to cast lingering stares at each other and they knew it was time to take this to the bedroom. For the first time they weren’t in any rush. Mickey looked slightly anxious when he disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later to where Ian was stripping off his clothes. 

“Hey...uh...I picked this up for you...thought you might wanna keep one here...” He mumbled nervously and thrust a packaged toothbrush into Ian’s hands. Ian couldn’t hide his grin. 

“Thanks Mick. That’s really nice of you.”

“Whatever. Don’t wanna be kissing you if you ain’t brushed your teeth.” Mickey teased and suddenly found himself pushed against the door frame with Ian’s tongue in his mouth. 

“You were saying...?” Ian chuckled as he pulled away. 

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up. I got an ass that needs a second opinion.” Mickey shoved at Ian’s firm chest and left the room. 

Ian gazed after his boyfriend, the very thought of that label giving his whole body shivers of nervous excitement. He’d been given access to Mickey’s life now. The important people knew about him and wanted him around. His mind turned to his own family and his smile slipped when he thought about how Mickey feel about being around his many loud and energetic loved ones. His life was centered around his son but aside from that he lived a quiet and private existence. He shook it off and vowed to bring it up with Mickey the next day. For now, he was ready to brush his teeth and move the ottoman behind the bedroom door so he could give his boyfriend’s ass the second opinion it deserved. 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey meets the Gallaghers and the couple make an important decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m working from home today and my boyfriend is supplying me with lots of coffee, so obviously I’m going to update more often! If only this was my real job. 
> 
> If you enjoy, let me know. If you don’t, let me know gently 😉🧡

Since telling Yev that they were a couple, Ian and Mickey fell into a comfortable routine of sorts as they navigated their way through the early stages of their relationship. Ian still worked stupid shifts sometimes but it was a cross he had to bear being a newly qualified doctor with plenty left to prove. He was quickly gaining a solid reputation in his field and he loved his job but now he had something he wanted to be home for a little more often. When they’d been dating for almost two months Ian was presented with an opportunity for Mickey to meet his nearest and dearest. He brought it up casually when they were getting ready for their respective days at work. 

“Hey...it’s Franny’s birthday next week. Deb is having a party for her at home at the weekend. You think you and Yev can make it?”

Mickey’s hand stilled in his hair where he was styling it with a little product. “Uh...um...”

Ian smiled and leaned his shoulder against the bathroom door. “You can say no. I’m not putting any pressure on you. We can wait until you’re ready.”

Mickey raised his eyebrows. “You realize that statement is putting passive aggressive pressure on me, right?”

Ian burst into laughter. “What do you know about passive aggression?”

“I know about all forms of aggression.” Mickey snarked. 

Ian held up his hands. “Fine. Just a suggestion. Forget I mentioned it.”

He was about to leave Mickey to finish off in the bathroom when the older man grabbed his bicep to stop him. 

“I’ll check with Lana...but it should be okay.”

Ian smiled warmly. “Cool.”

“How old is she?”

“She’ll be seven.”

Mickey nodded. “I’ll find an age-appropriate gift.”

“Don’t worry about it. I already put your name on my gift.” Ian shrugged. 

Mickey smirked. “That’s very presumptuous.”

“Fuck me, Mick. I’m gonna have to go lay down if you keep firing these long-ass words at me with no warning.”

Mickey flipped him off and got back to the mirror. Ian pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and left for his day at the hospital with a spring in his step. 

Mickey was nervous as hell when Ian led them around the house and into the back yard of his home. It was a decent enough looking house, a little larger than his own. He could smell the food on the grill cooking and hear giggling laughter filling the air. Yev was on Ian’s back with his arms wrapped around his neck. Ian held his slight frame up with ease, at least easier now he wasn’t lifting the extra weight of a plaster cast. Yev’s broken arm was fully healed and back to normal. 

“Ready?” Ian smiled and Mickey hated that his boyfriend looked nervous too. 

“Sure. Let’s do this.”

They turned into the yard and Mickey faltered when he saw the crowd of people. There had to be at least twenty people there, crammed into the space. He recognized Kev from the bar he used to drink in when he was a dumb kid manning the grill and cringed slightly when Kev’s jaw dropped open when he saw Mickey next to Ian. Several people stopped mid-conversation to gaze at the newcomers and Ian quickly stepped in to keep things flowing. 

“Hey Debs.” He grinned at his younger sister. 

“Hey. Glad you could make it!” She beamed. 

“Me too. So...uh...Debs, this is my boyfriend Mickey and his son, Yev.”

Mickey’s skin prickled with apprehension when Debbie’s eyes raked over him. Finally she settled on a warm smile. 

“Hi Mickey. Thanks for coming. Hey Yev! It’s so cool to meet you! You wanna come say hello to the kids and get a popsicle?”

Yev looked at Mickey with wide, excited eyes and his father nodded. 

“Go ahead. Stay in the yard, kiddo. No running off. Even if the other kids do.”

Yev nodded and Ian let him down to the floor where he followed Debbie to the group of kids playing on the small patch of grass. 

“One down, one million to go.” Ian grinned teasingly and bumped Mickey’s shoulder. 

Fiona was next up, slinking closer to the couple and grinning broadly. 

“Hey!”

Ian placed his hand on the top of Mickey’s back and felt him lean back into it. 

“Hey Fi. Mickey, this is my sister Fiona. Fi, Mickey.”

She smiled and nodded. “Nice to see you Mickey. Grab a beer and we’ll catch up later.”

Ian rolled his eyes. “She means interrogate you later.”

“I know.” Mickey chuckled. “Beer, you said?”

Fiona pointed to a huge ice bucket and Ian guided Mickey away. 

It wasn’t too bad, Mickey decided when he’d met the majority of people at the party. The birthday girl seemed to worship the ground Ian walked on so when he introduced Yev she took him under her wing. Yev was besotted with Franny and followed her everywhere. Ian smiled reassuringly when Mickey’s eyes trailed his son around the yard. 

“He’s fine. Franny won’t let anything happen. Relax.”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Yev wrote the book on clumsy. Lana would chop off my nuts if he ends up in the ER again.”

Ian chuckled. “Not gonna happen. Nobody but me gets near your nuts.”

“Lana has boundary issues.” Mickey joked and ducked under Ian’s arm so he was leaning on his chest and Ian reached up a hand to rest on the back on Mickey’s neck. It was surprisingly intimate but when Ian caught Fiona’s eye and she smiled it felt like the most normal thing in the world. 

It was all going so well. A little _too_ well. It wasn’t the norm for a Milkovich or a Gallagher party to be going so well. Something had to give. A couple of hours in, when Mickey was at last starting to relax, the something that had to give finally gave. It came in the form of Philip Gallagher arriving in a cloud of his own self-importance. He greeted his family loudly and when he got to Ian he hugged him tightly. Ian patted his back and grinned brightly. 

“How’s it going?”

Lip smiled brightly. “Awesome. You need to pull your finger out your ass and come to New York.”

Ian scoffed. “I barely have time to breathe!”

Lip laughed along but stopped abruptly when he saw Mickey walking towards them with two bottles of beer in his hand. 

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Lip snapped angrily. 

“Hey! That’s enough.” Ian retorted. 

Lip’s eyes widened when Mickey handed a bottle to Ian and tapped his own against it. He decided that offense was the best form of defense and flashed Lip a shit eating grin. 

“Hey man. Long time no see.”

Ian watched the atmosphere between the two men crackle with tension. 

“What the fuckin hell is goin on here Ian? Why is Mickey fuckin Milkovich here?” Lip glared at the smaller man. 

Ian coughed delicately. “Because he’s my boyfriend.”

Lip exhaled a harsh breath. “Fuck off. You’ve got to be joking.”

“I’m not joking. We’ve been together a while now. So play nice, okay.”

Lip took a step back. “You’ve lost your mind. You can’t be seriously telling me you’re wasting your time with this asshole? Since when have you even been gay?”

Mickey squared his shoulders back. “Look man, I get we had issues back in the day. But that was a long time ago. You gotta let it go.”

Ian smiled sweetly at the level of maturity Mickey was showing. 

“Let it go? You smashed up my car and broke my nose!” Lip raised his voice and made Ian choke on his own tongue. 

Mickey glanced over at Yev, who was busy playing with a football with Franny, Amy and Gemma. He hadn’t spotted anything yet. 

“You fucked my sister and dumped her after she got your ass into the best college she could find. You fucked her over so you could go and ‘find yourself’ or whatever the fuck you did at your fancy school. You’d be nowhere without her and you shit on her from a very great height. Tell me you wouldn’t do the same as I did if it was one of _your_ sisters, you dumb fuck.” Mickey snapped in muted anger, glancing Yev’s way to check he wasn’t watching. The little boy was having way too much fun to notice anything going down with the grown ups. Lip stared down at Mickey but his stance softened. It amazed Ian to see his brother back down. 

“Okay. We good here?” Ian glanced between the two men. 

Mickey held up his hands. “No problems here.”

Lip scoffed loudly and turned away. “Good luck, brother. You’re gonna need it with this miniature psychopath.”

It was testament to how far Mickey had come from his younger days that he allowed Lip to walk away unscathed after that remark. The Mickey of old would’ve broken more than the fucker’s nose. 

“Thank you.” Ian breathed. 

“The fuck for?”

“Not beating the shit outta him.”

Mickey laughed darkly. “I’ll get him one day.”

“Just remember he’s my brother when you’re plotting your revenge.” Ian crowded closer to Mickey and pressed a brief kiss to his forehead. 

“I’ll do my best.” Mickey drawled and swallowed down half his beer in one swig. 

Surprisingly, it was Carl Gallagher that Mickey seemed to like best out of the huge amount of relatives Ian introduced him to. They ended up sitting next to each other on the rickety garden chairs and watching the people moving around the yard. Ian was with the kids, one of the Ball twins hanging off his neck while he dangling Yev upside down by his ankle. All of them were giggling wildly. 

“You been seeing Ian for a while huh.”

It was the first thing Carl had said to him and broke the silence Mickey was actually finding quite comfortable. 

“Uh...yeah. Few months.”

“He seems happy.”

Mickey waited. Usually this was when the “hurt him and and I’ll hurt you” part came up. But Carl didn’t add anything to his observation and Mickey turned to glance at him. Carl was smiling over at Ian holding court with the kids. 

“He was always great with kids. Our folks were more dependent on us than we ever were on them. Ian helped raise us all.” Carl spoke softly. 

“He’s amazing with Yev.” Mickey remarked. 

Carl nodded. “Yeah. He’s mentioned Yev to me a couple of times.”

“I was nervous, you know, having a boyfriend around my kid...but Ian just makes it all so easy.” Mickey said and winced when he heard the painfully honest words spill from his lips to this virtual stranger. Jesus. Ian had turned him into a...talker. Ugh. 

Carl chuckled. “He’s one of life’s good guys. You’re lucky.”

Mickey nodded slowly. “Yeah. I am.”

“Gonna grab another beer. Want one?” Carl rose to his feet. 

Mickey smiled up at him. “Sure. Thanks Carl.”

“No worries man.”

Mickey wasn’t drunk but he was definitely a little buzzed. Yev was now safely in front of the tv with the girls watching whatever the Cartoon Network was blasting out. Carl and Kelly were with them, making out more than babysitting but it was enough to settle Mickey that his son would be okay. He found Ian in the kitchen talking to Lip and Debbie. The female Gallagher smiled brightly when he slid in next to Ian, tucking a hand in the back pocket of Ian’s jeans and getting a thrilled when Ian’s muscle tensed under him. Lip’s face curled into a sneer. “Excuse me...I need some air.”

Debbie chuckled and shook her head. “He told me what you did.”

Mickey blushed slightly. “It was a long time ago...”

“Well it didn’t do him any harm so don’t worry about it. I’m gonna check on the kids.”

They watched as Debbie left the kitchen and they were alone. Ian dipped his head to kiss Mickey softly. 

“Wanna see my bedroom?”

Mickey laughed happily. “Sure.”

The basement was tidy and Ian clearly took care of his own space. The queen mattress against the far wall was covered with clean laundry so Ian picked it up and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. He patted the mattress and Mickey smirked. 

“You tryna get on me with all your family upstairs? Ballsy move, Red.”

“Can’t get on anything with you standing over there...”

Mickey stalked closer to Ian and shoved him onto his back on the bed, crawling over him and rolling his hips into Ian’s crotch when he leaned down to kiss him. Ian grabbed Mickey’s ass and held him tightly against his own straining bulge as he ground up into him. 

“Oh that’s good.” Mickey enthused. “Fuck.”

With a swift movement Ian lifted his hand to Mickey’s face and forced two fingers into the older man’s mouth. 

“Suck.” He ordered and Mickey complied. Of course he did. He knew where this was going and he wasn’t about to slow down the sex train. Ian pulled his fingers out and used his other hand to open up Mickey’s jeans, creating enough of a gap to slide his wet hand down the back and grope at Mickey’s perfect, fleshy ass. His fingers found their target and Mickey leaned back to help him line up. Finally they were sinking inside him and Mickey had to slam his mouth onto Ian’s and kiss him deeply so he didn’t alert the whole fucking neighborhood to his current situation. Ian continued to finger fuck him into oblivion while using his other hand to deftly open up both of their jeans properly and free their cocks. Ian grasped both in his big hand and groaned at the red hot velvet steel paradox. Nothing should be so hard and so soft at the same time. 

“I’m not gonna last long, Mick.”

“Jesus. Me neither.”

“I wanna fuck you so bad...your ass is made for me...” Ian panted. 

“Got a condom?”

“Not here.” 

Mickey lifted his head from where it rested on Ian’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have condoms in your bedroom?”

Ian smiled shyly. “Nah. Don’t need them. I keep mine at my boyfriend’s house.”

Mickey huffed a laugh, enamoured by Ian’s sweetness but hating that he wasn’t about to ride the best nine inches he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

“Alright. Keep doing what you’re doing then...”

“Okay Mick.”

After their brief interlude to chat about Ian’s regrettable lack of condoms, they were quickly back on track and hovering over the edge of bliss. 

“Close, Ian.”

Ian smiled and squeezed their junk tighter in one hand while searching for that sweet spot inside Mickey with the other. He knew when he found it because Mickey let out a whimper that shot straight to his own dick. 

“Fuck...Mick...you feel so good. So hot. Gonna fuck you so good later. Jesus...”

His coherent words trailed off when his first jet of come shot out of his dick and coated his hand. The extra lubrication it added made Mickey reach his own point of no return and he joined Ian in shuddering ecstasy a split second later. 

“Holy shit, Doc. You’re supposed to save people, not kill them.” Mickey panted for breath. 

Ian flopped back onto his bed and laughed happily. “Sorry. That was crazy hot.”

“Yeah.” Mickey agreed. 

“We should get cleaned up.”

“Yeah.”

“Check on Yev.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe after a little rest...”

“Yeah.”

Ian giggled and kissed Mickey on the top of his head. 

“Stay with me tonight?” Mickey mumbled. 

“Of course.” Ian agreed readily. He couldn’t imagine ever saying no to that question. 

Yev was tearful when he had to leave but Ian promised he would bring him around to play with the girls another time soon. He cheered up after that and crashed out asleep almost as soon as he got home. Mickey carried him to bed and sighed heavily when he clicked the door to Yev’s bedroom closed. 

“You okay babe?” Ian poked his head into the hallway. 

Mickey scowled. “Thought we agreed babe was off the table when we talked nicknames.”

“You said that. I didn’t agree to anything.” Ian shrugged. 

“You shoulda been a lawyer, not a doctor.”

“Thought about it.” Ian remarked and followed Mickey into the kitchen, watching as he cleared away Yev’s crap from the table and putting a load of washing into the machine. 

“Got anything to wash?” Mickey asked Ian as he located the detergent in the child-proof cupboard. 

Ian stripped off his shirt and threw it at Mickey’s head. 

“Hey, asshole. You don’t throw shit at the guy offering to clean your fuckin clothes. Jesus.” 

Ian giggled and swept Mickey up in his arms. The brunet pressed his palms against Ian’s chest, the warm skin and soft hair on his pecs tickling his own skin and making his dick twitch in his jeans. Mickey ran his fingertips over the muscle and leaned forward to press his lips to Ian’s throat. 

“Glad you came today.” Ian mumbled. 

“Mmm...I’d like to come again today.”

Ian chuckled and Mickey held his lips at his throat to feel the vibrations. “I bet you would.”

It was a strangely intimate moment for both of them. Neither had been in the type of relationship where tender embraces had been a thing. Now they were holding each other in the middle of a kitchen and enjoying the feeling of skin on skin. 

“You hungry?” Ian asked and ran a hand down Mickey’s neck. “You didn’t eat much today.”

“Didn’t realize you were keeping tabs on me.” 

“I wanted to make sure you were alright. My family can be...um...a lot.” Ian admitted. 

Mickey hummed to himself and, as if it had been given permission, his stomach rumbled loudly. Ian chuckled and pulled away from his man, brushing their lips together as he did. 

“Want me to order a pizza?” 

“Sure.” Mickey agreed. “Thanks.”

Ian smiled warmly. He knew he wasn’t being thanked for the pizza. 

After sharing a large pepperoni, Ian’s signature dish, they checked on Yev and got ready for bed. The youngster was still fast asleep but he’d kicked off his covers. Ian tucked him in carefully and kissed the top of his head before creeping out of the room. Mickey was in his bedroom, digging around his nightstand and producing a small bottle of lube and a condom. Ian grinned and moved the trusty ottoman to the door and hopped onto the bed. Mickey joined him and they fell into their preferred make out position; Mickey straddling Ian’s thigh with the redhead on his back and his hands moving all over Mickey’s torso. It was how they liked to start things off before getting to the main event. Mickey had something on his mind and, even in the relatively short time they’d been a couple, Ian was able to pick up on it. 

“You okay babe?”

Mickey rolled his eyes but didn’t argue the name. “Just thinking.”

Ian waited but had to prompt Mickey out of his hesitation. “About?”

“Condoms.”

“It’s right here.” Ian held up the foil square. 

“Yeah. I was thinking about if we need them.”

Ian frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand...”

Mickey took a breath. “I’m thinking...maybe we can find out for sure if we need them. Then if we’re good...we can stop.”

Ian’s face lit up in a grin when he finally got the message. “Yeah?”

Mickey bit his lip anxiously. “Yeah. If that’s what you want.”

“I do. Definitely! I’m sure I’m clean. I get tested every six months for work. And I haven’t been with anyone without a condom since then.” Ian rambled. 

Mickey narrowed his eyes. “Not the time to give me your sexual history, Red.”

Ian smiled, abashed. “Sorry. I just mean...I’m clean. I’m good. I want to ditch the rubbers.”

Mickey brushed a single finger down Ian’s cheek. “You get what I’m saying here, right? It’s _only_ you.”

“It’s only you too.” Ian confirmed with a smile. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

Mickey didn’t reply with words. Instead, he kissed Ian like he was the oxygen supply keeping him alive. 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s holiday season and the couple have to find their way through a whole load of family time.

It came as no great surprise to either man that their sexual health tests came back clear. Ian’s regular check ups for his work insurance and his very diligent attitude to safe sex filled him with confidence. Mickey also insisted on practicing safe sex and had even been known to get a guy to double wrap if the hook up was a little shadier than normal. Between that and his lack of opportunity as a single father to actually hook up with anyone, he was also pretty confident in the outcome. So when it was all confirmed and their paperwork was tucked away in the nightstand, Mickey set about showing his romantic side to celebrate with their first condomless night of passion. The romantic side he was looking for was buried so deep it took a while to kick in and he had a crisis of confidence that Ian would think he was totally lame. Who actually goes to the trouble of planning a romantic night in just because they had a piece of paper telling them they’d managed to avoid catching a disease or two? But then he remembered the time a few weeks earlier when they were hanging out in Ian’s basement room at the Gallagher house and he found a shoebox sticking out from under the bed. When Ian was in the bathroom he peeked inside and found a load of random crap that he wouldn’t have paid any attention to, until he spotted a ticket stub for a movie they had seen the night before. On further inspection Mickey discovered all of the crap in the box had some kind of significance to their relationship. A photo of the two of them with Yev at Franny’s party, a drawing Yev did of Ian with his flame red hair and white coat, the pack of card with naked guys printed on the them that Mickey bought for him as a joke last month when they were at a street market. It was three months of tokens and reminders that Ian had collected and stored away in a sort of Mickey Memory Box. That’s when he knew Ian would appreciate anything Mickey could pull out of the romantic bag he didn’t know he even had. It set his mind into planning mode. He waited until Yev was at Svetlana’s for the weekend and Ian was on his rota days off. The house was tidy and dinner was in the slow cooker. He’d taken an extra long shower and changed the sheets. When Ian arrived late in the afternoon he saw how much effort Mickey had put in and felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Mmm...smells good.” He nuzzled into Mickey’s neck when he greeted his boyfriend. 

“Just some chicken thing I saw on that dumb cookery show Yev likes to watch...” Mickey murmured. 

“Not the food. You.” Ian clarified. “You smell good.”

Mickey blushed. “You got a weird kink for my smell.”

“It’s not weird. At least, it’s not my weirdest kink.” Ian giggled and released Mickey from his tight embrace. 

“I guess biting me on the ass cheeks is up there with the weirdest.”

“I love doing that. Giving your ass a hickey is my proudest achievement.” Ian grinned and Mickey rolled his eyes theatrically. 

Ian smirked. “You know what I really love?”

“What’s that then, Your Weirdness?”

“I love it when you’re jerking me off and you use the hand with the FUCK tattoo and all I see when I look down is my hard dick with that hot tattoo wrapped around it. Fuckin turns me on so much.” Ian confessed. 

Mickey dick twitched in his pants. “Fuck. That is hot.”

“When is Yev home?”

“Sunday night.”

“I got the whole weekend alone with you?”

“Yup.”

“Oh man. I feel bad for you.” Ian sighed heavily. 

“Why’s that?” Mickey tilted his head and gazed at his man. 

“I’m gonna wear your ass out.”

“Tell me again how that’s a problem...” Mickey grinned and grabbed for Ian’s semi-hard dick through his pants. 

Ian took Mickey by the hand and led him to the living room. “Remember our first night when I wanted to fuck you on the couch?”

“Not my overriding memory of that night, but sure.” Mickey chuckled. 

Ian pushed the brunet down onto the couch and straddled his thighs. “I’m gonna fuck you right here, right now.”

Mickey grinned broadly and reached his hand between the cushions, pulling it out to reveal a tiny bottle of lube. “Thought you might say that...”

Ian laughed happily. “Always so prepared...”

If you’d asked either man before they both would have been confident that sex couldn’t get any better. In a very short space of time they’d learned all of the spots to hit on the other person that would guarantee a good time. Neither thought that it could get any better. They were sexually compatible in every single way. 

They were both wrong. 

Sex without a condom was the most terrifyingly beautiful experience of each of their lives. Terrifying because it opened up both of them to the knowledge that this relationship was going to another level. One that neither had been even close to reaching before. Beautiful because...well, that trust and belief in another person mixed with the thrilling pleasure of the skin on skin heat and texture was just incredible. 

“God that was amazing.” Mickey groaned when he extracted himself from Ian and flopped onto the floor beside the couch. Ian reached his hand down and ran it through Mickey’s well-fucked hair. 

“I told you...you can just call me Ian.”

Mickey swatted his hand in mock-annoyance. “Your God complex is outta hand.”

Suddenly Mickey screwed up his face and closed his eyes. 

“What?” Ian’s voice was laced with concern. 

Mickey’s face blushed. “I’m leaking.”

Ian flashed a smug smile at his boyfriend and watched as Mickey got to his feet, a little unsteadily, and headed to the bathroom. 

“Round two is taking place in the shower...” Mickey called out over his shoulder. 

Ian didn’t need to be told twice. 

Life just seemed to work for the couple. Before they knew it, time had passed and it was almost Thanksgiving and they’d been together for seven months. Mickey and Yev were going to the Gallaghers for the holiday with Ian. Yev was so excited and made sweet potato pie with Mickey to take along. The house was packed with people again. Kev, Vee and their girls were there so Yev team up with Franny and the twins to play games and entertain himself. Ian managed to sneak Mickey down into the basement for a quick make out session while everyone else was busy. He’d worked a lot that month to cover shifts for other people so he could have the holiday off, but it meant he hadn’t seen much of his boyfriend in the last week or so. It killed him to be apart from the Milkovich boys for too long. Yev seemed to change all the time these days. Since he turned 5 in September he had shot up in height and seemed to lose more of his babyish features overnight. Ian missed him as much as he missed Mickey when they were forced to be apart. 

When the family and the extended add-ons sat at the three tables pushed together it was Fiona’s idea to get everyone to say what they were most thankful for this year. Everyone rolled their eyes but played along with Kev going first. 

“I’m thankful we got a real turkey this year. Much as I’m a modern man, there’s something not quite right about a tofu turkey.”

Debbie glared at him. “It’s inhumane.”

Kev held up his hands. “I got free range this year. It had the time of its life until the very last minute.”

Mickey snickered and moved things along before Yev found out what a vegetarian was and messed up his dinner routine. 

“I’m thankful you guys are all here.” Fiona smiled warmly around the table, settling on Mickey. “All of you.”

Mickey nodded his agreement. “I’m really thankful Lip got stuck at work in New York and couldn’t make it.”

Everyone roared with laughter but Ian followed his up with a nudge to Mickey’s ribs. “Hey!”

“I’m thankful I didn’t have to go to the lake house with Max.” Yev said solemnly. 

Ian ruffled his hair in silent agreement. He would never say it so Yev could hear but he liked it best when Yev stayed with Mickey for big occasions. 

“I’m thankful I got my guys to spend the holidays with this year.” Ian said simply but it was enough to make Mickey blush. 

Nobody commented but everyone smiled a little harder at the couple. 

Carl was thankful he was almost finished college. Kelly was thankful she had secured a job at a downtown advertising agency. Debbie was thankful Franny was happy and healthy. Vee was thankful the twins could braid each other’s hair now, saving her an hour every morning. Liam was thankful Mickey had helped him get a part time job at the auto shop on weekends. Everyone had a lot to be thankful for. 

At the end of the night Mickey and Yev were invited to stay over at the Gallagher house. Yev was beyond excited to have a sleepover with Franny and the twins and they set up their blankets in Franny’s bedroom, along with a night light and an iPad with cartoons on Netflix. They were set for the night. 

“I’m just down in the basement if you need me. Ask Franny to bring you down if you do.”

Yev rolled his eyes at Mickey and nodded. “I’m okay Daddy. Go to bed.”

Mickey fought to hide his smile. His kid was more well-adjusted than he ever was at the age of 5. He closed the door and left them to their fun, finding Ian already in the basement and stripping off for bed. 

“Wow. That was a long day.” Mickey yawned. 

Ian chuckled and removed his last item of clothing, his tight fitting Under Armour pants. Mickey watched as they dropped to the floor and pooled at Ian’s feet. His mouth went dry and suddenly tiredness was gone. 

“So...you coming in or what?” Ian grinned. 

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Mickey replied with a leering smile. 

“Oh definitely.”

After ten minutes of lazy making out and another ten minutes of quite agonizingly wonderful prepping and stretching, Mickey sank down on Ian’s perfect dick and rode him slowly. From this position he could set the pace and this time he wanted to make it last. He could gaze at Ian from this vantage point and get lost in the sea of green in his eyes. 

“You’re so beautiful.”

Ian heard the words falling from Mickey’s lips and a sheen of sweat broke out over his whole body. Mickey rarely talked like this. Usually when he was feeling a little more emotional than normal, like a month ago when he got a letter from his sister who lived in Canada with her boyfriend. Or last week when Yev brought home a painting he’d done at school of Mickey and a car to represent what your dad did for a job. 

Ian ran his hands down Mickey’s body and rested on his hips. “From where I’m looking...you got beautiful nailed.”

“We’re so gay.” Mickey laughed happily and twisted his hips on his next downward dip. 

Ian gasped and thrust up to meet him. “So very gay.”

They fell into that easy silence that confirmed they were comfortable in this situation. They managed to find the balance between committed relationship and keeping the sex to an always exciting level. 

Without warning Mickey got closer to the point that he was aiming for but at the same time was hoping would never come. 

“Ian...” Mickey whined. 

By now Ian knew the exact tone and pitch Mickey used to signal his end was nigh. And he used Ian’s name instead of a nickname. 

“Come for me, baby.” Ian coaxed and a second later his stomach and chest was feeling painted in Mickey’s hot, white release. He held onto Mickey’s waist tightly and thrust up into him a dozen more times before he found his own release. 

“Fuck!” He grunted and shuddered into Mickey’s trembling body. 

They collapsed on the bed and turned their heads to look at each other. Mickey smiled first and Ian chuckled softly. 

“Amazing.” Mickey seemed in awe of whatever he was feeling right now. 

“Always is.” Ian agreed. “Baby.”

Mickey half-heartedly slapped at Ian’s chest. “I’d argue but I’m too fucked.” 

As the Christmas holiday approached Ian had to work more and more awkward shifts. He had to miss out on a lot of stuff, like Franny getting the whole family around to decorate the Gallagher tree and helping Yev learn his lines for his kindergarten nativity. He’d been chosen to play the Angel Gabriel, who didn’t have many lines but they were pretty key to the whole event. Mickey scoffed good-naturedly when Yev told him with a serious face that he’d been selected to be an angel but actually he was proud of his son. 

“Daddy...will you and Ian come to see the nativity?” He asked one morning over breakfast. 

Mickey sipped his coffee and nodded. “I’m gonna be front row, kiddo.”

“And Ian too?”

“He’s trying to change some stuff around at work to be there. I can’t say for sure but he’s trying his best.”

Yev nodded. “The sick babies need him.”

Mickey chuckled softly. “Yeah kiddo. They do.”

_But so do I,_ Mickey thought himself before quickly shaking off his maudlin, selfish thoughts. 

When Ian crept into Mickey’s bed later that night when the family were asleep, he woke Mickey with a kiss and told him Josie had twisted the arm of another junior doctor that owed her a favor and called it in so Ian could have the day off for Yev’s nativity. Mickey expressed his gratitude with a sleepy, sloppy blowjob but Ian wasn’t complaining. 

“I’m wide awake now.” Mickey huffed when he was done. 

Ian giggled and pulled his boyfriend into his chest so he was resting his head on his heart. Mickey had confessed a while back that listening to Ian’s steady heart beating reminded him of the first day they’d met and it helped settle him into sleep. 

“Tell me about your day...” Mickey mumbled into Ian’s warm skin. 

“Hmm...” Ian ran his hand over the top of Mickey’s back, brushing the smooth skin in rhythmic patterns. “It was really cool actually. I was called to a crash code for a little girl. She was having a seizure. We got her stable and moved to the ICU. After I checked her over I figured out a different way to administer her meds so her body will break them down steadily and keep her stable. I got a lot of attention from the attendings for spotting that. They were able to schedule her for surgery before she had another seizure.”

Ian trailed off from his story and listened to his boyfriend’s steady breathing. He smiled softly to himself and pressed his lips to Mickey’s forehead. 

“Goodnight Mick.”

The day of the nativity arrived and Yev was buzzing with excitement. He was doing an afternoon performance that Svetlana and Max would attend and then Mickey and Ian would go to the evening show. Mickey was ready in the front row, as promised, with his camera ready to snap pictures of his little angel. Ian was alongside him with his own camera phone ready and his knee bouncing with excitement. 

“You’re way too geared up for this, Red.” Mickey teased his boyfriend with a laugh. 

Ian nudged his ribs. “I used to love coming to this stuff for Liam when he was young. Franny hates all this stuff so I never got to see her. This is nice.”

The lights when down and the spotlight shone on the stage. The tiny children mumbled, stuttered and charmed their way into the hearts of the audience. Yev appeared in his angel costume and Mickey swallowed the lump in his throat. Ian reached over and placed his hand on Mickey’s thigh, squeezing gently.

“He’s so beautiful.” Ian murmured. 

Mickey nodded and snapped some photos of his boy. He didn’t trust himself to speak. His shy, sweet and sensitive little boy had well and truly pulled on his big boy pants to do this and it was paying off. Yev was blitzing his performance. He remembered all of his lines and delivered them perfectly. When it finished the cast took a bow and everyone in the audience leapt up to applaud, none louder than Mickey and Ian. The redhead draped his arm around Mickey’s shoulders and pecked a kiss to his temple. 

“Now the fun part...” Mickey sighed heavily. 

Ian laughed and they headed to the stage to meet Yev. The PTA had arranged for festive treats to be served at a gathering at the end of the performance. The parents would have a chance to mingle and chat about their wonderfully talented offspring. Mickey was dreading it. Ian had offered to bow out to save Mickey the awkwardness of being there with his boyfriend but the older man had point blank refused with a firmness that made Ian tingle. 

“So they’ll have something new to gossip about? Who gives a fuck? I’m beyond giving a shit.” 

Yev saw Ian approaching the stage and bounced excitedly on the spot, his halo almost slipping off his head. 

“Did you see me? Did you see me?”

Ian held out his arms with a huge grin on his face. “I did, buddy. You were awesome!”

Yev leapt off the stage and into Ian’s embrace. They held each other tightly for a moment before Mickey tapped him on the shoulder. 

“You got a hug for me too?”

Ian handed him off to his father and Yev pressed his cheek to Mickey’s and squeezed. 

“Daddy. Your face is wet.” Yev stated. 

Ian looked closer and found that Mickey’s eyes had indeed been leaking. He smiled reassuringly when Mickey swiped at his eyes. 

“Let’s go grab some cookies.” Mickey changed the subject and placed Yev on his feet. 

The cookie stall was being manned by a perky blonde lady who was trying to fight her approach to turning forty with some questionable Botox fillers. She gasped theatrically when she saw Yev. 

“Oh my goodness! You were amazing, sweetie!” She enthused. 

“Thank you Miss Henry.” Yev smiled. 

She looked to Mickey and her smile faltered slightly when she clocked the tattoos on his knuckles. Mickey just smiled and shrugged. 

“Don’t make permanent decisions when you’re thirteen years old.” He whispered like he was telling a big secret. Miss Henry laughed musically and just like that Mickey had won her over. 

“You must be Yev’s father. You look much alike. I’m Loretta Henry, I work in the finance office at the school.”

“Good to meet you. I’m Mickey and this is Ian.” 

Yev piped up, clinging to Ian’s left leg. “Ian is Daddy’s boyfriend. He’s so cool. He’s a doctor!”

Ian blushed and ruffled Yev’s hair gently. “Thanks kiddo.”

“Lovely to meet you both. Yev is such a sweet and caring little boy. I can see where he gets it from. Excuse me...I have a long line of people wanting cookies. See you at school Yev.”

They waved as she left and Mickey glanced at Ian. 

“Well she seems nice.”

Ian chuckled. “She certainly likes you.”

Mickey went to queue for some drinks and Yev pulled Ian over to the craft table and showed him the little trinkets and decorations he’d made in class that they were selling for a dollar to raise funds for equipment. The redhead crouched down to look more closely and pulled Yev onto his lap. 

“Wow buddy, you did a great job. I love the reindeer! You think maybe we can take this one home?”

Yev’s eyes flashed happily. “And pin it to the fridge?”

“Sure. That’s where all the very best artwork goes!”

Yev nodded. “Yes please!”

Ian pecked a kiss to Yev’s forehead. “You got it. I want this one too.”

Ian reached into his pocket and pulled out five dollars, handing it over to Yev along with his reindeer picture and the silver painted pine cone. 

“You go pay the lady for them.” Ian winked and watched as Yev skipped away. 

“Oh he is just adorable!” A velvet voice spoke from beside Ian. He turned with a smile to see one of the other parents gazing after Yev with a huge smile. 

“He’s a sweetheart.” Ian agreed. 

A man joined her and gave Ian a once over. It wasn’t unusual. Ian knew he was good looking and guys were either checking him out for themselves or checking out his threat level around their women. They needn’t bother. For the last several months Ian hadn’t been a threat to anyone. He didn’t even notice anyone else existed. 

“This is Yev’s dad.” The lady introduced him to her husband. “Yev came to Ryan’s birthday party last month.”

Ian shook his head and smiled politely. “Oh I’m not Yev’s dad...I’m...uh...well I’m his dad’s boyfriend.”

Her eyes widened but then she broke into a huge smile. “Oh! I’m sorry. You were just so great with him. You seemed so natural with him!”

Ian laughed. “That’s okay. I mean...I try to take care of him like his dad does. But I guess I spoil him too. He’s a great kid.”

“I’m really happy he’s got extra people to love him.” She squeezed Ian’s arm. 

Yev returned with his purchases and handed Ian his change. “Thanks Ian.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ryan’s mom tenderly ruffled Yev’s hair. “So adorable! See you soon Yev. You should come over for a play date with Ryan soon.”

“Yeah! Can I?” Yev asked Ian, who wasn’t sure he could make that call. He was treading the parenting line carefully these days. 

“We’ll check with your Dad first but I’m sure he won’t mind.” Ian replied with an easy grin. 

“I’ll see you in the yard next week. We can arrange something then.” Ryan’s mom smiled as she left with her husband, who looked a little stunned at Ian’s confession. 

Ian turned around to look for Mickey and found him standing nearby with a strange expression. He held a can of soda in one hand and a juice box in the other. Yev happily skipped over and took the juice box before wandering off to talk to his best friend Riley. Ian approached Mickey slowly and frowned. 

“Are you okay? Your eyes are really glassy. Do you have allergies?”

Mickey shook his head and wiped at his face. “I’m fine.”

Ian peered closer. “Are you crying?”

Mickey scowled and sent a warning glare at Ian. “Shut up.”

“It’s fine, Mick.” Ian held up his hands. “You’d be a cold hearted bastard if your little angel didn’t make you emotional.”

Mickey heaved a sigh. “It’s not that. I just..I heard them...her...talking about you being so great with Yev.”

Ian’s face lit up with a smile. “Oh. Right.”

“And it was just...nice. You know. I liked hearing that. Jesus. This is fuckin weird.”

Ian reached out a hand and rested it on Mickey’s hip, stepping slightly closer. 

“You don’t have to talk about this.” He assured Mickey. 

The older man laughed and shook his head. “Let’s go home and watch a movie with the kid. I’m feeling like I wanna have you guys close to me tonight.”

Ian grinned and stepped away from Mickey, letting him compose himself. 

Ian had to work the night shift on Christmas Eve but he clocked out at 6am and headed straight to Mickey’s house to see Yev wake up and get his presents. By lunchtime he was exhausted but wanted to have this time with Yev. Their first Christmas together was special and they ate lunch with the whole Gallagher clan, including Lip. He was still frosty with Mickey but as usual Yev wormed his way into Lip’s heart and he finally warmed to the Milkovich men. When Yev left in the afternoon to spend the rest of the day with Svetlana, Mickey pulled Ian down to his basement room and crawled into bed with him. 

“I’ve had a great time today.” Ian mumbled sleepily. 

“Me too. Thanks for the kid’s gifts. He loves the scooter.”

Ian smiled. “Yeah. Hopefully he doesn’t end up in ER with that. Svetlana would kill me.”

Mickey stroked Ian’s hair. “She’d have to get through me first.”

Ian was asleep almost immediately. Mickey was still running on the energy of the day, Yev’s excitement was infectious. When Ian rolled over to the other side of his bed Mickey took the opportunity to sit up in bed and check his phone. Svetlana had sent a photo of Yev with his new toys and he grinned at the screen. It still blew his mind on a daily basis that he got to have the greatest kid in the world as his son. He turned to set his phone on the nightstand and something caught his eye. It was a letter, addressed to Dr IC Gallagher, with a logo in the corner denoting it was from NYU Winthrop Hospital in New York. Mickey didn’t even mean to read it. It happened without even thinking. But once he read it he couldn’t unsee it. Ian had been invited to an interview for a position at their “award winning pediatric teaching hospital” on January 4th. Mickey felt his mouth dry up and he struggled to swallow. The letter was dated two days earlier so Ian must’ve just received it, but hadn’t even mentioned anything to Mickey about it. He set the letter on the nightstand where he found it and climbed quietly out of bed, grabbed his stuff and crept out of the basement without waking Ian. 

Mickey almost made it out of the Gallagher house unscathed but Carl spotted him in the front yard. 

“Hey Mickey. Wanna join me?” The younger Gallagher waved a fat joint in the air. 

Mickey was about to refuse when he remembered he didn’t have Yev at home for the next couple of days and he was struggling to process Ian’s big news that he wasn’t supposed to know about. 

“Fuck it. Sure.” He slumped onto the step beside Carl. 

“Ian asleep?”

“Yup.”

Carl handed off the joint and exhaled slowly. “Everything okay?”

Mickey took a deep toke and held it in his lungs until his eyes teared up. “You wanna hear my problems?”

“If you wanna tell me...sure.” Carl shrugged and took the joint back. 

Mickey thought about that prospect. Ian and Carl were very close, the younger man taking the place of Lip as Ian’s emotional support since his move to the Big Apple. 

“It’s nothing, man. I’m just thinking about stuff.”

“Ian stuff?”

“Yeah. I’ll figure it out.” Mickey added. 

Carl nodded and lit the burnt out end of the joint back up. “He’s okay though, right?”

Mickey smiled. “Yeah.”

“And you too?”

“I will be.” 

Silence filled their space as they passed the smoke back and forth. Finally it loosened Mickey’s lips enough to speak to Carl. 

“I never thought I’d find anyone that I wanted to have around my kid. When I was locked up and Lana was getting with her new guy...I cried myself to sleep thinking Yev would forget I existed and move on with this new family. When I got out and Yev welcomed me back like I’d been away to war...fuck. It killed me. I swore I’d never let myself lose him like that again. I wanted all of him, all the time. I didn’t think I’d ever find a guy that I was okay with sharing Yev with. I know how weird that sounds. Usually it’s the kid that freaks out. But that’s how I felt. Then I met Ian and it was just...fuck...like he’d been there all along. He’s everything I need him to be for Yev.”

Carl’s eyes were wide in surprise at Mickey’s rambling outburst of emotion. 

“I get that. You’re doing a great job with him.”

“Ian?” Mickey smirked. 

“Well I meant Yev, but actually yeah. Ian too.” Carl chuckled. “So what’s the problem?”

“Ian’s the smartest guy I ever met. He’s got plans and ambition and he’s going places. My life is here. It’ll always be here and I’m fine with that. I don’t wanna be anywhere else. It isn’t enough for Ian. And it shouldn’t be enough. He deserves the world. And I’m only gonna hold him back.” Mickey slurred with sadness. 

Carl frowned sadly. “I don’t think he sees it like that...”

Mickey smiled wryly. “Maybe not now. But he will. He’ll resent me for keeping him in this shitty town. And I wouldn’t blame him.”

“No...”

Mickey stood up and squeezed Carl’s shoulder. “I gotta head out. Merry Christmas Carl.”

Carl nearly stopped him but instead let him go, watching in confused uncertainty as the older man slouched down the street. It didn’t take a genius to see something wasn’t right. 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian confronts Mickey. Mickey has to confront himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnnd we’re almost done! This is the last chapter, with a little epilogue to follow soon. It’s a little angsty in places but what is love without angst? 😊
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read this story. It was very different for me to write but I’ve enjoyed it! I’d love to hear your thoughts so drop me a line and let me know 🧡
> 
> And now, on with the show!

_“I woke up and you were gone.”_

Mickey read and re-read the text a million times before the day was done. The weed wore off after a few hours and he was left with his own dark thoughts. He didn’t know how to answer the message. Yes, he was gone. But he couldn’t get that letter out of his head. The steady, relaxed and happy life they’d forged over the last few months was almost over and his body shivered involuntarily every time he thought about it. Ian was going to head to New York, blow the minds of that fancy teaching hospital administrators and land the job of his dreams. Then he would pack up his shit and leave the South Side behind for good. Because that’s what people like Ian did. They had their shit together and they did great things with their gifts. They helped others, set the world alight and changed lives. The only thing was, he wasn’t finished setting Mickey’s world alight yet. Mickey turned off his phone and opened a bottle of Jack. He needed to be unconscious to sleep and, in the absence of any drugs in the house ( _thanks a bunch, Yev, for turning me into a responsible fucking adult)_ it would have to do. 

Ian was back at work and feeling like shit when he hadn’t been able to contact Mickey since Christmas a couple of days earlier. He’d received one shitty text from his boyfriend telling him that he wasn’t feeling great and just needed to sleep, but Ian wasn’t buying it now. Even when he suggested he visited just to use his medical skills to check up on him, Mickey blew him off. Josie knew something was up when Ian refused her offer of a Twinkie. Paul cackled loudly and asked when he ever turned down a twinkie but Ian couldn’t find the energy to laugh at the playful ribbing from his friend. Josie waited until Paul was busy on his rounds and cornered Ian while he was writing up his charts. 

“What’s going on, sunshine?”

Ian looked up with tired eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Honey, don’t lie to your Work Momma. I’ve known you since you turned up here on your first day shaking with fear in case you killed someone. I know you. And you know you can talk to me.” Josie drawled with confidence. 

Ian chuckled and threw down his pen. “Mickey is being weird with me. He took off while I was sleeping two days ago and I haven’t seen or spoken to him since. We haven’t gone two days without a word since we met. Something’s up.”

Josie nodded. “You talked to him?”

“Between him not picking up my calls and being tied to this place?” Ian raised his brows. 

“Fair enough. But that’s the only way this is gonna be fixed.” Josie warned him. 

Ian held up his hands on defeat. “Soon as I get more than an hour away from the hospital I’ll be banging on his door.”

Josie pressed a kiss to the top of Ian’s head and left him to his work. 

Mickey was at work when Ian tracked him down four days after Christmas. The auto shop was quiet so only Mickey and another guy were in. Mickey had his head buried in the hood of a car so the other guy approached Ian at the entrance. 

“Hey. Can I help you?” He asked, glancing around for Ian’s car that he didn’t actually have. 

“Just wanted to speak to Mickey...” Ian smiled weakly. 

Mickey’s head popped up so fast he hit it on the metal prop holding up the hood. “Fuck!”

The guy laughed softly. “Take a break, Mick. You’re gonna break that poor machine worse than it was when it got here.”

Mickey rubbed his sore head and scowled. “That’s real encouraging, boss. I’ll be back in five.”

Ian’s stomach twisted at that. Mickey wasn’t going to spare him long. This could be the quickest break up ever for him. Mickey nodded towards the office and Ian trailed after him, feeling Mickey’s boss’s eyes on him the whole way. 

“Hey.” Ian greeted when they were alone. 

“Hi.”

Ian swallowed his fear. “You ghosting me, Mick?”

Mickey stared at the floor and wiped his hands down on a rag. “Huh?”

“You left me while I was sleeping. On Christmas Day. You don’t answer my calls. You say you’re ill but blow me off when I offer to check you over. You _do_ know I’m a doctor, right?”

Mickey scoffed. “Yes, Ian. I know.”

“So what gives? You haven't got the balls to break up with me to my face?” Ian taunted. 

Mickey’s head shot up and he narrowed his eyes dangerously at Ian. “What the fuck...?”

“Well obviously I’ve done something to piss you off if you’ve blanked me for the last few days. You know the last time we went that long without talking? Never. Not once in the whole time I’ve known you. Even when I’m up to my eyes in baby vomit and you’re trying to get Yev to take a bath. We always make time to talk. So just man up and tell me the truth.” Ian ranted. 

Mickey went red with anger. “Are you fucking kidding me? _I_ need to man up? _I_ need to tell the truth? Fuck that! You’re the one keeping secrets!”

“I’m what?” Ian spat. 

“Look, I’m not gettin into this here. I’m at work. You can’t just blast in here and fuck up my day...” Mickey glared at Ian. 

The redhead burst into sarcastic laughter. “Sure Mick. I’ll leave you to it.”

He was out of the auto shop before Mickey could get another word out. 

“Daddy, where’s Ian?” Yev frowned when he looked around the house and found no sign of his favorite doctor. 

“He’s working.” Mickey replied simply and headed to the kitchen to start dinner. 

Yev followed him with a slouching walk and a huge pout. “He’s always working! I want him to come here and help me with my reading. Will you call him please Dad? Will you call him so I can speak to him? He was going to help me with my homework. Call him Daddy please...”

Mickey couldn’t take anymore of his son’s pitiful whining rambles about the man he was so furious with. Before he realized he was doing it, he snapped at Yev to shut him up. 

“Give it a rest, okay! He’s not here. He’s not coming. Go get changed and wash up for dinner!”

Yev froze on the spot. Mickey was brash and abrupt, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by his son over the years, but he was never _ever_ shouty with him. Yev’s eyes filled up and he bit down hard on his bottom lip, like a true distressed Milkovich. He ran out of the room before Mickey could react. 

“Fuck!” Mickey hissed angrily and threw the spoon in his hand into the sink. Tears unexpectedly filled his eyes and he sucked in a deep breath, clutching the edge of the sink and shaking violently. He hated himself more than anything in that moment. He even hated Ian a little bit for making him feel that way and taking it out on Yev. The tears he was trying to fight overwhelmed him and rolled down his face. He couldn’t go on like this. He hadn’t seen Ian for five days. It was five days since Ian turned up at his work and chewed him out about manning up and telling the truth. The fucking nerve of the guy! Ian was the one taking off to New York the next day without telling him! He took some deep breaths and tried to think of the meditation techniques his probation officer had taught him when he got out of prison. Once he was composed he tossed the food he’d taken out for dinner back into the fridge and headed to Yev’s bedroom. 

“Hey buddy.” 

Yev was curled up on his bed with his cuddly monkey tucked under his chin. He sniffed when Mickey addressed him. 

“I’m sorry Yev. I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that. It was really bad.”

“It’s okay.”

Mickey moved closer to the bed and sat on the edge. “Can I get in for a hug?”

Yev nodded silently and moved to make space for his father. Mickey gracelessly clambered onto the small box spring and pulled Yev into his arms. The little boy clung to him tightly and sniffed back his tears. 

“I’m so sorry.” Mickey mumbled into Yev’s mop of hair. 

“I know.”

“I love you very much. You know that, right?”

“Of course. I love you too, Daddy.” Yev replied and nuzzled into Mickey’s throat. “I love Ian too. And I miss him a lot.”

Mickey felt his throat close up and it was painful to swallow. “Me too, kiddo.”

January 4th arrived and Mickey woke up knowing Ian was off in the big city, ready to take on his next challenge. It brought on a queasiness that he hadn’t experienced since he stopped using drugs and alcohol to dull his moods. _Thanks again, Yev_. He dropped the youngster off with Svetlana for the day while he headed into work, passing the diner on his way to the auto shop. He couldn’t help but glance into the window where he knew Ian always sat. The shock of red hair through the glass jolted him. Mickey stopped dead in the street and stared inside until the guy sitting beside Ian nudged him to get his attention. Mickey recognized him as Paul, the one Ian had breakfast with every now and then. Even from this distance he could see the paleness and dull freckles on Ian’s face. Mickey felt the rage boiling up inside of him and Ian’s sad frown didn’t help matters. He turned on his heel and marched into the diner, startling the people sitting near the door when it smacked off the wall. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Mickey bellowed at Ian. 

The bewilderment on Ian’s face was almost adorable, if Mickey wasn’t so livid. 

“Hey, asshole.” Paul snapped. “You get to choose if you wanna break up with him. But you don’t get to choose where he goes if he wants to push eggs around his plate and pretend he’s eating, okay?”

Mickey cut his eyes to Paul and scowled menacingly. “Did I ask you?”

Ian coughed to get his attention. “Why are you here Mickey?”

“Me? Why are _you_ here? Why aren’t you in New York?” 

Ian frowned. “Huh? Why would I be?”

“January 4th. Job interview. Winthrop. Ringing any bells?” 

Ian leapt to his feet and stared Mickey down. “Hang on, you _know_ about that?”

“Yes I fuckin know about it, dumbass! Why aren’t you there?” 

Ian didn’t get a chance to reply when Brenda, the regular waitress, bombed across the diner and got between them. 

“Enough. No more yelling. Take this outside if you wanna tear strips off each other!”

Ian glowered at Mickey with his nostrils flaring. “Outside, Mick. Now.”

Paul sat back and watched as the two men stomped out onto the sidewalk and stopped in front of the window where he sat. He only wished he’d learned how to lip read, although the arm gestures and facial expressions told him all he needed to know. 

“This is why you’ve been ghosting me? What the fuck, Mickey?”

The brunet took a step closer to Ian. “Tell me why you didn’t go to that interview.”

“Because I don’t want the job, you absolute fucktard! Why would I drag my ass all the way to Long Island to interview for a job I don’t even want? Are you crazy? Of course you’re crazy! Why else would you fuckin blank me for all this time if you weren’t crazy? Jesus Mickey. I can’t believe you didn’t just talk to me about this!”

Mickey had never seen Ian lose his shit before. It was a spectacular sight. 

“What? Fuck are you talking about? I saw the letter! That hospital is the shit for pediatrics. Why the fuck wouldn’t you want to go? That could be your shot!” Mickey shrieked in a very undignified way. 

“My shot at what exactly? What do you think it’s about Mick? If you saw the letter you shoulda asked me about it instead of running off like a kid and leaving me to freak out over all the shit I coulda done to scare you away!”

Ian was apoplectic with rage. His face was redder than his hair, his eyes glittered like emeralds and his whole body shuddered. 

“Well why didn’t you tell me about it yourself?” Mickey retorted, sounding like he was rapidly trying to get off the back foot. 

“When did I get the chance? The letter came on Christmas Eve when I was at work, then I went straight to your place, then we went to my place! I opened it when you were getting Yev off to his mom’s and I was so tired from a full damn day on my feet that it slipped my mind! You must’ve read it half an hour after I did!”

Mickey fell silent and the bluster he was running on ran out. “But I don’t get it...it sounded like they really wanted you...”

Ian laughed bitterly. “Yeah they do. They want me because I came up with a different way to administer seizure medication in kids so they stabilize quickly and they want me to work for them so they can pass it off as one of their great teaching school success stories! They get the credit, I get fuckin nothing.”

“You did that?” Mickey frowned. “When?”

“Not that long ago. I told you about it one night but you fell asleep on me while I was telling you.” Ian huffed out a breath. 

“Oh.” Mickey sighed. 

Ian rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was always tired lately. Sleep seemed to evade him when he needed it most. 

“You really think I’d make a decision like that without discussing it with you first?” Ian challenged. 

Mickey licked his lips. “It’s your life, man.”

Ian winced and nodded. “Guess I’m the dumb fuck for thinking we were sharing a life.”

He turned to walk away and head back into the diner when Mickey yelled out to him. 

“Ian...”

The redhead stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back. 

“Don’t.”

There was a beat of silence before Ian turned slowly to face Mickey. His heart broke at the desolation on Mickey’s face. 

“Don’t what, Mick?” He shot back. “I can’t do this anymore. You can’t dangle me on a thread, being mad at me for something we could’ve talked about together. If this isn’t what you want you just gotta let me go.”

Mickey closed his eyes and took a breath. “Don’t walk away. Please.”

Ian smiled sadly. “I gotta get back to Paul. He blew off his fiancée to hang with me today.”

Mickey nodded dumbly. “Sure. You should do that.”

Ian nodded back at him. “I’m...look...I never meant for it to be this way. I didn’t want to just disappear from Yev’s life like I was never there. Tell him...tell him I love him, yeah?”

A tear rolled down Mickey’s face. “You should tell him that yourself.”

Ian chuckled softly. “Not sure I’d get the words out.”

“You should tell me that too.”

Ian’s jaw swung open. “Huh.”

Mickey swiped the tear away but it was quickly replaced by two more. “You should tell me that you love me too. Because I love you. And I’m scared I’ve fucked up the best thing in my life that isn’t my son because I can’t handle just how much I love you.”

Ian gaped at the older man in front of him. The one who didn’t really talk emotions but probably felt more deeply than anyone he’d ever met before. 

“Oh god.” Ian blurted out. 

Mickey risked a smile. “Just Mickey will do.”

Ian burst into a spray of laughter. “Wow. You really love me?”

Mickey nodded solemnly. “Yeah. I do. You just can’t even imagine how much.”

Ian grinned and stepped closer to Mickey until he was within touching distance. “I think I might be able to.”

“I’m sorry.” Mickey murmured. 

“Me too.” Ian added. “I shouldn’t have given up on you so easily.”

“I deserved it.”

“No you didn’t. Of course you didn’t. I love you, Mickey. And I love Yev. You’re my family. I didn’t fight for my family.”

“We’re fighting for us now.” Mickey smiled shyly and pulled Ian closer by his shirt. Their lips crashed together and they grabbed each other so they were holding on tightly. Their tongues dipped and twirled and danced. It was just about to get a little too hot for public consumption so they wrenched themselves apart, only to be greeted by raucous applause. Both men turned to the noise and found a small group on the sidewalk, gazing at them with moon eyes and clapping wildly. Mickey recognized some of them and knew immediately it was Ian’s work friends. When Ian smiled shyly one of them, an older lady Mickey believed was called Josie, came over to them and hugged Ian tightly. 

“Proud of you, sunshine.”

“Thanks, Jos.”

There was a loud banging on the glass beside them and everyone turned to see Paul pointing wildly at the food on the table. 

“It’s getting cold!” He mimed. 

Ian turned to Mickey. “You got time to stay for breakfast?”

Mickey glanced at his watch. He was already half an hour late. 

“Fuck it.” He grinned. “Eddie will like me better now we’ve talked it out.”

Ian chuckled. “Good. Come on.”

Yev was staying overnight at Svetlana’s so Ian headed back home with Mickey, after Eddie gave him the day off. He was so relieved to see Ian back in the picture that he gave the time away freely. Mickey was his best mechanic but he was an absolute bear to work with when things weren’t right with Ian. They found themselves in Mickey’s bed, making out and reacquainting themselves almost immediately. 

“I love you.” Ian murmured and Mickey elbowed him under the ribs. 

“I love you too. But right now I love your dick in my ass. Come on, Red. I need this.”

Ian shuffled down the bed and yanked Mickey’s pants off, dipping his head and taking his cock deep into his throat. 

“Holy fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Mickey panted loudly. 

“You like that?” Ian pulled off with a pop.

“Yes, you cocky fuck.”

Ian giggled and got back to sucking Mickey off like he was getting a golf ball through a straw. Mickey’s eyes were rolling back in his head and he was thrashing on the bed enough to give Linda Blair a run for her money. 

“I’m gonna come...”

Mickey’s warning went unheeded and Ian upped the ante by picking up his pace and stroking a fingertip lightly over Mickey’s hole. It was enough to send Mickey careering over the edge of his own sanity and Ian had to swallow several times so he didn’t waste a drop. 

“Need to fuck you.” He mumbled in Mickey’s ear as he arranged his limbs in the right place so he could look into Mickey’s eyes as he stretched him open. Finally he was sliding home and the tears that he had been fighting all day made another bid for freedom. 

“Are you crying, Red?” 

Ian sniffed. “Might be. What’s it to you?”

Mickey giggled and pulled his boyfriend down into a kiss. “Come on, baby. Fuck me.”

Ian’s laughter filled the air when he heard the word baby fall from Mickey’s lips. He rolled his hips and gasped at the fizzing in his chest. 

“Love you so much.”

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Floodgates are open now, huh? Sure. I love you too.”

Ian grinned and really got to work on welcoming his boyfriend back. 

The couple lay in each other’s arms all night, watching shitty tv and talking. Mickey didn’t want to sour the mood but some stuff still niggled at his brain. 

“Talk to me, Mick. That’s all you gotta do.” Ian coached him. 

Mickey sighed. “The reason I freaked out when I read that letter...wasn’t because you hadn’t told me...not really. It was that I could see you moving away and being this amazing talent up in New York...and I worried that you hadn’t told me because you were going to stay behind for me. I couldn’t let you do that.”

Ian hummed to himself and waited to see if Mickey had more to say. He did. 

“And the fact is, this is my home. This is my life, with my boy, and I don’t want to be anywhere else. Which is just as well because I can’t leave the state while I’m on probation. But that might not be enough for you. I needed to give you that way out to take that choice away from you.”

Ian sighed heavily when Mickey finished speaking. He pressed a kiss to Mickey’s head. 

“Mick...it’s not that simple. Of course you and Yev factor into my decisions now. That’s what you do when you have a family. But I’d talk to you about it first.” 

Mickey nodded against Ian’s chest. “I know. But I’d hate myself if we held you back.”

Ian rubbed his hand down Mickey’s back tenderly and slapped him hard on the bare ass cheek. 

“This is my home too. My whole life is here. I spent a lot of time when I was studying away from the people I love. The hospital keeps me away from them. I can’t imagine being so far away from my family that I don’t get to see them whenever I’ve got a spare hour. I don’t want to leave Chicago. Meeting you hasn’t changed that.” He explained. 

“So...we’re good?” Mickey checked. 

“You gonna talk to me about stuff before you fuck off and leave me again?” Ian replied. 

Mickey laughed. “I will.”

“Then we’re good.” Ian confirmed with a kiss. “Can I go to sleep now? I’ve been awake for like...two days.”

Mickey clicked his tongue but snuggled down deeper and closed his eyes. “Goodnight.”

“Night baby.”

Yev was like an excited puppy when he came home and found Ian making dinner in the kitchen. 

“Ian! Oh wow! Wow! You’re back!” He bounced on the spot until Ian held his arms open for Yev to leap into. The youngster didn’t disappoint. He buried his face in Ian’s neck and tightly looped his arms around his neck. 

“I missed you, buddy.”

“I missed you too Ian.”

Ian settled the child on his hip and Yev pressed his palms to his cheeks, holding Ian firmly but gently in place. 

“Don’t leave us again.”

Ian smiled, only slightly tempted to let the kid know it was actually Mickey that did the leaving, but nodded anyway. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Yev pecked his lips against Ian’s cheek. “Love you.”

Ian’s heart seized with happiness. “I love you too, buddy.”

Mickey walked into the kitchen and leaned against the side of the fridge. “Mac and cheese?”

Ian blushed and showed his dimples. “It was either this or call for a large pepperoni.”

“PIZZA!” Yev shrieked excitedly. 

Ian glanced at Mickey. “I could box this up for us to take to work tomorrow...”

Mickey rolled his eyes but smiled. “Okay. But later we’re gonna talk about the attitude a doctor should be showing towards a child’s diet.”

Ian stepped over to Mickey with Yev still in his arms and kissed his mouth softly. “You keep me right.”

They kissed again for a second until Yev pushed his finger into Ian’s cheek. 

“Call the pizza, Ian. I’m hungry.”

Mickey smirked and grabbed the phone. “This is your life now, Red.”

Ian watched as Yev leapt to the floor and chased after Mickey to remind him about the potato wedges. He smiled widely to himself, fully aware that his life was now officially perfect. 


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months later and Carl has his sights on Ian’s basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 
> 
> I’ve loved writing this! Thanks for reading!
> 
> As always, let me know what you think and send any ideas for stories my way!

**_3 months later_ **

“Okay Ian. I think that’s the last box from the truck.” Carl placed it down on the floor beside the bedroom door. 

Ian appeared in the doorway with his last box, smiling gratefully. 

“Thanks Carl. Grab a beer outa the fridge if you’re thirsty.” 

“Nah. I’m good. I’ll leave you to unpack.”

Ian embraced his brother and walked with him to the door. “Thanks Carl. I really appreciate it.”

“No sweat, brother. I’m glad you’re moving out. Kelly really has her eye on your basement.” Carl winked. 

He was just about to leave when Mickey came up the path to the house with Yev dashing along beside him. 

“Uncle Carl!” Yev ran, suddenly launched into the air and caught by Carl. Yev giggled happily and squirmed. 

“Hey man.” Mickey greeted. “Thanks for helping Ian move his stuff in. I didn’t expect to stay so long with the shrimp’s swim class.”

Carl fist-bumped him. “It’s cool. Like I told Ian, sooner he’s out of the house the sooner I can move my stuff into his basement.”

Mickey laughed and reached for Yev. “Bath time bud, you stink.”

“I smell like swimming.” Yev frowned. 

“I’ll leave you guys to it. Catch you soon.”

They waved Carl off and Ian filled the tub for Yev while Mickey grabbed a beer. 

“Did you use the Spiderman bubbles Ian?”

Ian looked down at Yev, who was gazing back at him with a huge smile on his face. “Of course I did. We need to buy some more when we go to the grocery store tomorrow.”

Yev tapped his temple. “I’ll remember.”

Ian was about to help Yev over the steep side of the tub but he suddenly had an armful of Yev, holding him around the neck. 

“I’m so happy you live here now.”

“Me too. We’re gonna have so much fun.” Ian promised. 

“Are we having pizza for dinner?”

“Nope. I made lasagna.” Ian told the child with a hint of pride in his voice. He was not known for his culinary skills but Mickey did have a point that they couldn’t feed Yev pizza for every meal, even if he was thrilled with the idea. 

“Boring.” Yev droned with a teasing smile. 

He quickly undressed and climbed into the tub, chatting to Ian about his swimming lesson. Ian loved hearing all about how Jamie thought he was the best swimmer but can’t do the back stroke without crossing over to the other side of the pool. He was so animated and Ian could listen to him all day. Mickey came into the bathroom and smiled down at Ian sitting on the floor as he chatted to Yev. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to seeing anything so adorable. 

“Dad?”

“Yev?”

“Max said we can go to stay at the lake house. Can we go soon?”

Mickey curled his lip. “He wants us to go with them?”

Yev shook his head. “No. He said I could go with just you and Ian.”

Ian grinned up at Mickey. “That sounds cool.”

“I’ll talk to Lana.” 

Yev raised his arms in the air and whooped excitedly, spraying Ian with bubbles. The redhead laughed delightedly and grabbed a towel. 

“Come on...let’s eat and watch some tv.”

Ian finished unpacking his clothes and toiletries in Mickey’s living space while Yev was sprawled out asleep in the middle of their bed. He left his shoe box until last, his collection of memories from his first year with Mickey. The ticket stubs, the photos, the silly gifts, the trinkets. Everything was in this box and it made Ian feel like a silly teenager but he couldn’t part with any of it. 

“Put it on the top shelf of the closet. We can start another one for Year Two.” Mickey suggested, appearing beside him and pressing his lips to Ian’s shoulder. 

Ian grinned and nodded. “I like that idea.”

“Wanna carry him to his bed?” Mickey tilted his head towards Yev’s sleeping form. 

“Nope.” Ian shook his head. “Let’s all sleep in the bed tonight.”

Mickey smiled. “Sure. And when he kicks you in the nuts again at 3am I swear I won’t laugh.”

Ian winced and chuckled. “He kicks like a horse!”

Mickey pulled Ian into a slow kiss. “Does it feel different? Living here instead of staying here?”

Ian thought about it. He’d basically spent every night he wasn’t at work here since Yev found out about them last year. But now this was his home. 

“Yeah. It’s different.” Ian confirmed. “This is our future. It feels amazing.”

Mickey pecked his lips again. “Yeah. Amazing.”

With the shoe box on the closet shelf, they were tucked up in bed on each side of Yev. Mickey reached over and grabbed Ian’s hand, squeezing it twice. 

“Night babe. Love you.” Ian murmured. 

Mickey shook with silent laughter. “Night baby. Love you too.”


End file.
